The Tale-Changer
by BookLoverDutch
Summary: Sometimes the endings of stories aren't what you'd like them to be. That's what Tale-Changers are for. This tale is about a young one, a girl, who has the power to change the rather unfortunate ending of The Hobbit. But, as you may expect, it doesn't go exactly as planned, because a certain Dwarf with Dragon-sickness refuses to believe her, leading to his death... or maybe not.
1. An Odd Visitor

**Warnings: None (for this chapter, that is.)**

* * *

 _The day after Durin's Day, around sunset  
Kíli_

* * *

It was peaceful. More peaceful than I had thought it would ever be again.

Of course I knew it would be of short duration; there was an army of Elves facing us, only a thousand metres away, along with about fifty furious fishermen. There would be a war later on, perhaps tonight, perhaps tomorrow. I could feel it in the air.

But for now, it was peaceful, as the fourteen of us – Uncle Thorin, Fíli, Óin, Glóin, Balin, Dwalin, Ori, Dori, Nori, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and Bilbo Baggins – watched the sun disappear behind the hills. Soon, there would be starlight, and that would sadden me, for it was Tauriel's favourite kind of light, and for she was not here with me.

In fact, she was with the army of Elves on the other side of the valley, preparing for a war against us.

I was not sure on which side I was, deep inside. I did not want war, I just wanted Tauriel to be here, with me. Of course, that was a very selfish thought, and I had been taught to be selfless at any cost, so I quickly banned it from my head.

I bent forwards and leaned on the barricade Uncle Thorin had made, my chin resting on my gloved hand. I had just closed my eyes when I heard footsteps. My trained ears told me that it was one of the race of Men, a youngster, walking towards us on the dry ground.

I straightened up and peered down, only to see that I had been right. It was a girl. I estimated her to be about fifty years old, but I knew Men aged quicker than Dwarves, so that would make her around fifteen or sixteen years old.

Her hair was a bright shade of red, like the colour just on the tip of a flame. Her clothes were odd, unlike any I had ever seen before. She wore trousers made of a fabric that looked like it had been woven from the night sky, dark and smooth, and a bright-coloured vest with an unfamiliar logo. She did not wear boots, like most of the Men, but shoes made of textile and kept together with laces.

This girl, whoever she may be, certainly was not from around here. How could she be? She was walking so calmly, all alone, her hands stuffed in the pockets of her vest and no weapons to be seen, that she clearly did not know how dangerous it could be here, especially after nightfall.

Fíli and I shared a look – he had seen it as well – before we heard Uncle Thorin grab his bow and aim an arrow at the young girl. She immediately stopped in her tracks and looked up. Her eyes were the colour of wood, with small flecks of gold, and they were wide in shock but not in fear.

"I have already told your folk that we do not share our gold!" Uncle Thorin bellowed. "Leave, or my arrow will hit between your eyes!"

I saw her take a step back before she cleared her throat.

"I don't belong to the people from Lake-town!" she then shouted back. Her voice was clear, like the air that surrounded her, but she spoke with an accent that made it somewhat difficult to understand what she was saying. "I don't want your gold! I need to warn you!"

Uncle Thorin clearly was fed up with her, because he fired an arrow at the ground, right in front of her. She jumped back.

"I will not hesitate to kill you," he said coldly. "Now leave."

She shook her head – how foolish was this child? – and Uncle Thorin lay another arrow on his bow.

I was startled. He could not slay her, could he? This girl clearly did not know what was going on. Perhaps she was ill. I could not let Uncle Thorin kill an ill child.

I walked up to him and lay a gloved hand on his shoulder. He spun around quicker than I had expected, causing me to jump backwards.

"What?" he said boldly.

I swallowed difficultly.

"I do not think you should kill this girl, Uncle," I replied. "Perhaps we should listen to what she has to say. It might be important – she said she wanted to warn us."

Uncle sighed.

"Kíli," he said, "has it ever come to your mind that this child might be sent to trick us into giving the people of Lake-town our gold? Or to threaten us? It is better if we finish her off now."

I indeed had not thought of that, but that did not change anything.

All of a sudden, my brother was behind me. I could not see him, but I could feel his presence the way brothers can.

"I am sorry to object, Uncle," he spoke, "but I agree with my brother. We should listen, instead of killing a stranger."

Uncle Thorin was growing frustrated, now; I could hear it in the way he spoke.

"I have told her to go away twice," he said.

"And I must admit that she is foolish for not leaving," Fíli agreed. "But she may be ill, for she does not know how dangerous it is. Do you want to be responsible for the death of a sick child?"

I had to stifle a grin. It was amusing how Fíli always knew exactly what I was thinking.

Uncle lowered his bow, the dark look that had been in his eyes for the last day disappearing for a moment.

"No. I do not. Perhaps we should listen."

Then the hard gaze came back.

"One of us will go and talk to her – I am not willing to lose my voice while shouting at her. If she says one wrong word, she will die. Understood?"

Fíli and I nodded simultaneously. The solution was not what I hoped it would be, but it was something.

"I will go and talk to her," I offered. Uncle shook his head immediately, but I argued quietly: "Uncle, I have already done less than I wanted to do. Please. Give me a chance to prove myself."

He did not protest, so I assumed that he allowed me to do it. A last glance over the barricade showed me that the girl had not left; she was just standing there, in the dim light, waiting. Then I started to climb downwards.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **So, yeah. I've started a new story. About the Hobbit. Because I'm not happy with the ending. Hope you like it.**_

 _ **PS: When I started this story, I hadn't read the book yet, so in the ending, there may be some things that are in the books but not in the movie. It's not annoying, believe me. If it was, I wouldn't have used it.**_

 _ **PPS: I own none of the characters, places, or anything else of The Hobbit. The only thing that's mine is our Tale-Changer, who will introduce herself later on in the story. And the song in the next to last chapter. The rest belongs to JRR Tolkien, and to whoever thought Tauriel up.**_

 _ **PPPS: I suck at titles. Just so you know.**_


	2. A Threatening (And Misunderstood) Remark

**Warnings: A little bit of strong language. Some blood.**

* * *

 _Day two, about half past five PM_

 _Zoë_

* * *

I've got to admit; this trip wasn't what I hoped it'd be. Of course it was nice that I had wished upon a star for something that would give me the power to switch between fictional worlds and mine, and that I could change the storyline to whatever I wanted – in this case, I wanted Thorin, Fíli and Kíli to stay alive, for it'd be so much better for Middle-Earth – but it was harder than I had expected.

One of the disadvantages of my power was that I didn't know where I was going to appear, which lead to me randomly appearing at the most dangerous places.

Thank goodness it wasn't like the Hunger Games. I had appeared in the middle of a fight and had died, which sent me right back to my own, boring world. I could never visit that world again. If I died in a world, I could never go back.

Anyway, I had appeared about fifty kilometres away from where I had to be, so I had walked for the past forty-eight hours. My feet hurt like hell. And now I was standing in front of a huge barricade, with thirteen Dwarves who probably wanted to kill me before I'd get one word out of my throat. It was just insulting.

I wasn't scared, but I had to make sure they heard what I had to say and that they believed it before I died and got banned from this universe.

I shivered. Damn, it was cold. I hoped Kíli would hurry before I froze to death. He was climbing down awfully slowly.

My fingers played with the ring around my middle finger; the only thing that connected me with my world. If I lost it and I died, I would die for real. So I had to make sure I didn't lose it.

I watched as Kíli reached the ground and started to walk towards me. He had a slight limp, slight enough for someone who didn't know to miss it, but I knew, and I noticed. I also noticed the huge sword he was holding in his hand, and I took a step back. I didn't know what the Dwarves had been talking about after Thorin had threatened to kill me, but they had certainly decided that it was easier to stab me than to shoot me with an arrow.

Apparently, Kíli had noticed that I was scared, because he stopped, about three metres away from me.

"I am not here to kill you," he said, holding up one gloved hand in a gesture of peace. "I only want to listen."

I took a deep breath. This was always the hardest part – convincing people that I was from another world.

"Okay," I said. My voice was trembling from the cold. I hated it. It made me sound weak. "I know this'll be hard to believe, but I'm from another world. Another universe, really, and in my universe, your world exists in books. I know how it ends. I wanna change it."

I waited. The Dwarf facing me had a really confused look on his face. It took him a couple of seconds to register what he had just heard.

"So..." he then said, "we do not come from the same world."

"Nope."

"And you know how this story, as you call it, is going to end."

"Yep."

"And you want to change it."

"Hm-m."

"Then may I ask..." He looked nervous, and I honestly couldn't blame him for it. "...how does it end?"

I bit my lip and looked down at the dry grass.

"Thorin, Fíli and you... will die."

I looked up. Kíli was staring at me, eyes wide in shock, and his mouth slightly dropped open.

Then his expression hardened, which was unexpected, and placed his sword on my throat, which was even more unexpected.

I understood it, though. He thought that I was threatening them, that I was part of the slowly growing darkness, and that I was going to say that if they didn't do what I wanted them to, they'd die.

I forced myself to stay calm, despite the sharp point making a small cut in my skin. I hadn't done anything wrong. I was innocent. I only wanted the best for them.

A small sound left my mouth when a small trail of blood streamed down, soaking the collar of my vest.

"I swear, I'm not threatening you," I whispered, my voice hoarse. Of course I knew that I wouldn't truly die, but it still wasn't a nice thing to go through. "You'll get killed by Orcs. They'll attack when the Elves are here, after dawn. There will- There will be five armies."

I was starting to lose my voice, but I needed to go on, to say what they needed to look out for.

Kíli hadn't moved, but the sword's end was making a huge gap in my skin because I was talking.

"Whatever you do..." I went on, starting to feel light-headed, "...don't go outside. The Orcs only want the three of you. Stay... inside."

With those words, my body finally gave in, and I passed out.


	3. A Heated Family Conversation

**Warnings: Some blood. Nothing else.**

* * *

 _The day after Durin's day, after sunset_

 _Fíli_

* * *

I bent forwards when I saw that my brother pressed the point of his sword to the girl's throat.

Had she said something wrong? She must have. Kíli was not one to use violence without reason. Perhaps she had threatened him.

I squinted.

The child was talking, but she was too far away to understand what she was saying. She was foolish – did she not know that talking with a blade on your throat only makes the wound worse?

We watched in silence for a long moment before she fell backwards, all of a sudden. The cut on her throat had gotten worse, as I had predicted, and the front of her vest was dark with blood.

My brother jumped backwards, dropping his sword. It was the first time he had moved in nearly thirty seconds. He was obviously startled.

I saw that Glóin peered over my shoulder.

"Is she dead?" he yelled.

Kíli made a gesture that showed that he did not know. Then he kneeled next to her and laid his fingers in her neck to feel her pulse, the way Uncle Thorin had taught us to. He turned to us.

"She is still alive," he responded. "Help me get her up there."

My eyebrows shot up to my hairline in surprise, but I decided not to ask any questions. If my brother thought that we could not leave her there, on the cold, hard ground, then I was willing to agree with that.

I walked over to the rope that was hanging over the wall, and I had just swung my leg over the edge of the barricade when I felt a hand on my shoulder, stopping me.

It was Thorin.

"Wait," he commanded me. Then he shouted over my head at my brother: "What did she say?"

Kíli straightened up.

"I will tell you later," he replied, picking up his sword and shoving it into the case on his belt. "I worry my brother will fall off the wall if I tell you now. It is..." He paused, presumably thinking about how to put the words correctly. "...very shocking information."

He brushed his dark hair out of his face, and for the first time, I could see the expression on his face. He seemed somewhat shaken, which confirmed what he had said; it must indeed be shocking information.

"And besides," he added, his tone a little lighter, "the girl will freeze to death if we leave her here any longer. I am not certain if I heard everything she needed to say – perhaps we miss a part of it. We must keep her alive."

I knew that he only said that to convince Uncle Thorin. Slowly, he let go of my arm and straightened up.

"All right, then," he said gruffly. "Fíli, help your brother get the child up here. Ori, seek an empty chamber where we can put her until she is conscious again."

The youngest Dwarf nodded and ran off into the hallway, and I continued where I had left off. It did not take me a long time to reach the ground; I was quite a skilled abseiler, if I may say so.

Kíli was quiet, quieter than usual, as we lifted the girl and lay her down on the makeshift net that was hanging from the barricade, so that Dori could pull her up.

When the two of us had climbed up again, Kíli walked up to Uncle Thorin.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?" he asked him. "I mean, in private."

Uncle gave a nod and my brother gestured that I had to come with them. We sat down in one of the empty rooms, around a simple table that was carved out of the stone.

"What is it?" Thorin then asked. "What did she tell you?"

He was inquisitive, I knew; more than he would admit if I asked him about it. Kíli fiddled with the hem of his coat.

"Well," he said quietly, "she said that she needed to warn us."

"We already know that," Uncle Thorin reacted, sounding a little impatient. That seemed to make something snap inside my younger brother.

He got to his feet, placed his hand on the table with a loud, echoing bang and yelled: "This is serious, Uncle! She said that the three of us will die!"

Uncle's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "I beg your pardon?"

"She said," Kíli panted, suddenly out of breath, "that she came from a different world. A world where ours only exists in books. She said that... that she knows how it ends, and that she wants to change it. She told us not to go outside until the battle is over, otherwise we will be killed by Orcs."

All the colour was drained from his face. I could tell that he was scared, and I was not sure if he was more scared of death or of Uncle, who had stood up as well, with a somewhat alarming expression on his face.

"This is utter nonsense," he said, slowly and quietly. "Of course that girl does not come from another world. Her story is simply a threat, to force us to do something the Men want us to do – whatever that may be."

It was silent for a while before I spoke up. I did not know why I hesitated. Perhaps it had something to do with the look on Uncle's face.

The sickness inside of him was taking its toll on him. He was changing, becoming unpredictable. It hurt to see that kind man who had raised us turn into some kind of monster.

"I-I am sorry to interrupt, Uncle, but I am not certain if you are right," I said carefully. "You have heard the stories as well, have you not? The stories about Men travelling between universes to change the fate of the people. They called themselves Tale-Changers, I believe."

"Those are simply rumours."

"Perhaps," I admitted. "But we have reason to believe that this girl is one of them."

Uncle sighed, as if this conversation was tiring him.

"I was not planning on leaving the mountain, any way," he grumbled. "But if we decide that we need to go outside and defend our home, I will not hesitate to do that, and if we stay in here, it will not be because some child has told us to."

With those words, he turned around and left the room.

Kíli and I shared a look.

"He does not believe me, does he?" my brother asked. There was something of vulnerability in his voice, the kind that he only showed when I was around, because he knew I would not judge him.

"No," I said honestly. "But I do. Really."

He bit his lower lip, and I had the feeling that all of his insecurities would be spilling out in a moment.

I was right.

"It is just," he blurted out, "I can feel that Uncle Thorin is changing, and it just hurts a lot and I also wounded that girl without reason and I am afraid to die and I miss Tauriel and..."

He sighed and dropped his gaze to the ground. I walked over to him and lay a hand on his shoulder.

"I fully understand it," I said softly.

Perhaps I should have said something else, but I was not very well with words.

We stood in silence before I patted him on the shoulder.

"Come on. Let us look if the girl is already awake. I would like to know a little more about this whole fuss."

He nodded, agreeing with me, and followed me into the hallway, towards the unoccupied rooms.


	4. An Unexpected Encounter

**Warnings: Some more blood.**

 _Day two, a couple of hours after sunset (I guess)_

 _Sam_

* * *

I woke up with a loud moan. For a moment, I didn't know where the hell I was, but when I opened my eyes and the blur had disappeared a little, I recognized a hollowed-out room in stone.

I was inside the Lonely Mountain.

The only light in the room came from a small oil lamp next to the itchy blanket I was lying on. It was just enough for me to see that I was still wearing my own clothes. The front of my vest was still red with blood, though it had dried up by now.

 _Great. Mom's gonna kill me for that._

Instinctively, I reached up to feel if the wound on my throat was still bleeding, but instead, I felt something of cloth wrapped around my neck.

 _Wait._

 _Didn't they want to kill me?_

Apparently, I had made some kind of impression.

I barely had time to be happy, because I heard the sound of boots in the hallway next to my room. Someone was coming. Two someones.

I immediately lied back down and closed my eyes. Maybe it was unnecessary, but I had woken up just a minute ago, and I didn't feel like answering questions just yet.

The Dwarves – they must be, right? – entered my room.

"I believe she has not yet woken up," I heard one of them say. I couldn't exactly hear who it was, but I could guess it when I heard the other one speak.

"Yes, I can see that."

It were Fíli and Kíli.

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be happy or scared. They were my favourite characters from the book, but Kíli was the one who had hurt me. And ruined my favourite vest. If I hadn't been here to save him, he would've paid for that.

My line of thought was interrupted by one of the two muttering something, followed by the rustling of clothes and the feeling of breath on my face.

 _Whoa, dude. Don't come so close, please._

I tried to lie as still as possible, but when I also felt fingers on my cheek, I jerked my head away and snapped my eyes open, just in time to see Fíli jump back. He looked utterly pleased with himself, being the little shit that he was, as he turned to his brother.

"I told you so," he said. "She was already awake."

I wasn't sure how to look.

"So what?" I snapped. Well, I tried to snap, but my voice was hoarse, and it came out more like a whisper. It was pathetic. I hated it.

"Nothing," Fíli replied. "I was just proving a point to my brother."

It was silent for a while before I asked: "You've come here for answers, haven't you?"

The brothers nodded simultaneously.

"I'm guessing I'm supposed to tell you how it's all going to go if you don't listen to me?"

Okay, that came out more threatening that I had meant to, but there was no turning that back, now.

Kíli shook his head.

"No," he replied. "Knowing your name first would be nice."

"And then tell us what you know," Fíli added.

I raised my eyebrows. I hadn't even thought of introducing myself before.

"W-Well," I stuttered awkwardly, "my name's Sam."

"And are you what they call a Tale-Changer?"

I nodded.

"Yep. But I'm quite new to the business. I've only changed three worlds so far. This is my fourth."

I cleared my throat, noticing that I was starting to get off-topic.

"Anyway," I said, "I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

Maybe it was better to just get to the point already, but I wasn't sure where to start. I wasn't extremely well at telling long stories, especially if I had to tell the two people in front of me that they and their beloved uncle were going to die.

The two brothers shared a look before Fíli politely replied: "Perhaps it is better if we would get the bad news out of the way first. Please."

"The line of Durin is going to get wiped out by Orcs. Simply said, you two and Thorin are going to get killed. That is, if you decide that I'm lying and just let it all happen."

"We have not decided yet," Fíli said. "May I ask what the good news is?"

"The good news is that Thorin's going to get better," I responded.

The brothers gave me matching puzzled looks.

"How do you know..." Kíli began, but I gestured that he had to shut up.

"Don't ask," I said. "I know way too much."

I strictly looked the two Dwarves in the eyes.

"You'd better let your uncle be until the Battle has begun. If you just let it happen, he'll eventually cure himself."

They seemed to think for a moment before they both gave a nod.

"We will," the youngest said. "Is there... anything else you want us to know?"

I knew he actually wanted to ask something else, but that he didn't dare to, because he didn't want to hear any more bad news.

"Tauriel survives," I replied.

He visibly relaxed at that, which made me have to stifle a smile. Those two were just the most adorable couple. Especially because Tauriel was so much more badass. She had pretty much the only girlpower in the entire trilogy.

There was an uncomfortable silence as I tried to figure out whether the brothers believed me or not, and if they were willing to do what I wanted them to do. Then I shook the feeling off.

"Anyway," I said, "I really hope you decide that I'm not a liar, and that you listen to my advice. If I were you, I'd get some rest, now. It's probably late, and you'll need your energy tomorrow."

They both gave me a strange look – they probably had never been commanded by a fifteen-year-old girl before – but then they nodded and straightened up.

"That sounds like a good idea," Kíli said, starting to walk out of the room. His brother followed his lead. He nodded politely at me.

"Good night, Tale-Changer," he said with a small grin.

I smirked back. "Sleep tight, Dwarf."

Then they were gone, and I was alone once again, which became boring really quickly, so I rolled off the blanket and stood up. It was dark, so I picked up the lamp. The ring was still around my middle finger – it was too large to fit around my ring finger – which made me let out a relieved sigh. If I had lost the thing, or someone had taken it from me, I would've had a problem, with the battle coming and everything, and some Dwarfs who wanted to kill me.

I walked out of the room and started to wander in the hallways. They were empty, and I didn't come across anyone until I had reached the part that looked out over the spot where I had been standing only a couple of hours ago.

I don't think I would've noticed him if he hadn't been holding a thing that practically gave light.

Bilbo was leaning on the edge of the barricade, and he was spinning the Arkenstone around in his hands. He looked up, a little startled, when I walked up to him, and quickly put the jewel back under his jacket.

"Hello," he said friendly. "I-I see you are awake."

I could tell that he was a little flustered that I had caught him with the stone in his hands – of course he didn't know that I knew what it was – but I decided not to make a remark about it. Instead, I nodded.

"Yeah, I think so," I joked, and he barked a laugh, although it wasn't funny at all. Then it was silent for a moment as we both grew absent-minded and gazed at the view.

I was happy that I didn't have to look down at the smaller Hobbit, anymore; I wasn't exactly comfortable with looking at people who were shorter than I was, for I didn't meet them really often. I never knew how to stand.

Then Bilbo's voice broke the silence.

"Thorin told me, you know," he said. "About how you claimed to know how this all was going to end. About the fact that he is probably going to... eh..."

"About how he's gonna get himself killed if he doesn't listen to my advice?" I finished. "Yeah, I know. He's a stubborn sonuvabitch."

The curse had left my mouth before I could stop it, and Bilbo turned and frowned at me.

"Beg your pardon?" he asked.

I pressed my lips on each other. "Never mind."

He didn't seem satisfied with that reply, but he didn't go on.

"However," he continued as if nothing had happened, "I was wondering how you can be sure about all this. I mean, I know that you have read about this world and about everything that happens to it, but how can you be certain that it all will happen? If I may ask."

"I can't," I immediately replied. "I don't think that there's a way to know for sure that it's going to happen. Only my arrival somewhere could make things better or worse. I just know that, if I do nothing, it'll happen like in the book. Just like I know that, if I don't stop you, you'll take the Arkenstone to the Elves next morning. You're planning to."

His mouth dropped open, and I knew that he was going to talk himself out of this, probably with 'Arkenstone? I do not have it. It is lost, is it not?', but I cut him off before he could even start to lie.

"And it's a good plan, believe me," I quickly continued. "Really good. Good enough to cure Thorin of Dragon-sickness, in the end."

He was so surprised that he couldn't get a word out of his throat – I could tell by the look on his face.

"And I know all that from the book," I finished. "That should prove it, right?"

The Hobbit snapped out of his trance and nodded.

"Yes, absolutely," he said, a little breathless. "Just- That is remarkable."

Then he seemed to remember his manners.

"I do not think I have properly introduced myself yet," he said, shaking the hand with the ring on it. "Bilbo Baggins, burglar, riddle-maker, and barrel-rider, at your service."

"Sam Lewis, fangirl, writer, and Tale-Changer," I introduced myself, grinning. "Though I don't think I'll need your service, if you don't mind."

He laughed again. Then we fell silent again. We stood there for a little while longer, leaning on the barricade and staring at the flickering lights of the camps in front of us, before Bilbo stretched his arms and yawned.

"I am going to sleep," he said, stifling a second yawn. "Excuse me, and good night."

I involuntarily mimicked his movements, and yawned as well.

"Yeah, me too," I replied. "'Night, burglar."

I picked up my lamp and started to walk back to the room I had woken up in.

I slept a lot better than expected.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Sam isn't the name her parents gave her. Her actual name is Samantha Kenyi Lewis._**

 ** _(What do you think of the story? Please let me know! And thanks to everyone who has made it this far, I know it takes a while for the story to begin, but thank you!)_**

 ** _Next chapter, the Battle of the Five Armies will begin. Be prepared._**


	5. A Battle of Five Armies

**Warnings: Language. A lot of swear words. Some injuries. Some blood. Manly tears. Stubborn Dwarves.**

* * *

 _Day three, somewhere after sunrise_

 _Sam_

* * *

I woke up to a furious yell.

 _Well, that's one unusual way to wake up._

It took my sleepy brain a couple of seconds to figure out what was going on. Then I hurled out of my room, bare-feeted and dressed in only my underwear and a plain black T-shirt, towards the barricade. When I arrived there, I found out that I had been right about what was happening.

Thorin had pushed Bilbo onto the barricade, hand knotted in the front of his shirt and sword drawn. He had found out that the Hobbit had stolen his precious Arkenstone.

I kept as quiet as possible; if I intervened, I might make it worse, and I wasn't planning on making it worse. My job was to make stuff better, after all.

I shivered. It was winter, and it was cold, but I couldn't bear turning away now. It felt like my feet had been glued to the floor.

Thorin stepped forwards, and Bilbo looked him in the eyes, a frightened expression on his face. Just when I thought that the King under the Mountain was going to either slit the burglar's throat or throw him over the wall, a loud voice sounded from somewhere in the huge army in front of the front door – wait, I hadn't even noticed that.

"It is my burglar, Thorin Oakenshield," Gandalf shouted, "and if you do not like him, please don't damage him. Let him go."

The Dwarf grumbled something under his breath, but he let go of Bilbo, who got to his feet, trembling. He seemed to understand that he had to climb down, or he'd get thrown down, so he started to clamber down the wall. No words were spoken as the Hobbit stood next to the Wizard, or after. There was a horrible, tense silence.

I knew that there'd be a couple of minutes before the Orcs would arrive, and that I had time to put on my clothes so that I wouldn't freeze to death, but I didn't dare to move. I watched in utter silence as Thorin spun around on his heels, majestic as usual, and stamped off to the hallway I had come from. He didn't even bother looking at me as he brushed past me, which was fine, otherwise he would've seen the relaxed look on my face.

Everything was going just as planned.

I knew that Thorin was now going to the Gallery of Kings, where he'd go even crazier, to the point that he figures it all out himself. I didn't exactly know how it worked, but I knew he'd cure himself of Dragon-sickness.

Now that their leader had left, the Dwarves turned to me.

"You know how it is going to end, do you not?" Dwalin asked me – I assumed that all of the Dwarves had been told why I was here. "What do we have to do, now?"

"We wait," I replied. It was as simple as that. "There'll be an army of Orcs, and they'll be defeated. If you do nothing at all – admit it, you're horribly outnumbered – they'll get defeated just as well. Stay here. I know who dies and who doesn't, and I assume you know as well. If you wanna keep your King under the Mountain, I advice you to stay here."

With that, I turned around and walked towards my room to put on my clothes before I turned into a popsicle. I was just putting on my grey Converses when I heard the sound of boots in the hallway. Thorin was returning – there was no one else who walked like that.

I had to hurry up, before he convinced his Company to go to the battle.

I knotted the shoelaces of my second shoe and threw my hair into a quick braid on the way to the wall, but I was too late.

I already heard the King's deep voice when I was only halfway there.

"Will you follow me one last time?"

I winced as I heard the Dwarfs' approving battle cries. I cursed under my breath and broke into a sprint. This wasn't going well at all.

When I reached the barricade, the Dwarfs were climbing down the rope. Most of them were already standing on the ground, among others Fíli. His brother was still climbing.

I growled in frustration and finally let out the thoughts I had been having for the past two days.

"You stubborn assholes!" I cried out. "You don't give a shit about who dies and who lives, do you? Goddamn blockheads!"

But nobody seemed to hear me over the battle sounds, and maybe that was for the best; if they had heard and understood what I was calling them, they'd never take me seriously.

I sighed. Now the only option was going with them and trying to protect at least one of them as well as I could. I needed a weapon. I sprinted towards the weapons room – fortunately, I knew where it was – and grabbed the first thing I saw. A sword. It was a little too big for me, but I couldn't care less at that moment. I went back to the barricade and started to glide down the rope.

The Dwarves had already gone; I was happy that I knew where they were going. Now I needed to get to the mountain without being beheaded. How the hell was I going to do that?

I stood there for a moment, just looking around in the shadow of the wall, before I realised that I was wasting way too much time. There wouldn't be more than a couple of minutes before the first heir of Durin would be killed – Fíli.

I decided that I didn't care whether I was killed or not, and I hurled into the fighting mass. Luckily, I was quite small, so I could dodge most of the weapons, because they were above me.

I was about halfway there when suddenly a huge figure stood in front of me.

An Orc.

And I was his target.

He grinned cruelly and swung his huge sword towards me. I ducked out of the way just in time, and leaped through the gap between his legs. Then I disappeared in the crowd again.

My small victory had made me less careful, so I discovered, and before I even knew it, something hit my face.

It was someone's knee – I didn't care whether it was an enemy or not, because it had gone by accident, anyway – and it hit me _really hard_. I felt my nose crack, and my hand flew towards it instinctively.

I swore loudly. Ow, that hurt!

I was bleeding, too, and badly. I probably looked like I was some war victim, which I would be if I didn't move out of the way quickly. I broke into a sprint, and I didn't stop until I had reached the foot of the mountain, where Fíli, Kíli, Thorin, Dwalin and Bilbo were, although I could see only four of them.

I had to hurry.

As I started to run up the slope, I pressed my sleeve against my nose to stop it from bleeding. My vest was ruined, anyway.

I arrived just in time, at exactly the right spot, and maybe that wasn't accidentally. I was standing behind an Orc. Azog, to be precise, and he was holding Fíli in a dangerous grasp, and he was probably explaining that the three of them would be killed, and the Orcs would finally have their revenge, blah blah blah.

I knew that if I didn't act quickly, the poor Dwarf would be killed, and that's why I didn't hesitate.

I let out a loud cry and hurled towards the ugly creature, and before he could even turn around, I had hit him on the head with my sword. Like, _really_ hard.

Azog went still and fell forwards, pushing Fíli off the rock. The Dwarf fell down with a yelp and crashed into the rock with a sickening crack, a couple of metres below.

I ran towards the edge of the plateau where I was and peered down. Fíli had landed on one of the rare patches of snow, which had softened his landing a little bit. He was unconscious, but he wasn't bleeding. I assumed it was just because he had hit his head really hard.

Thorin, who was on the same 'floor' as his nephew, and Kíli, who was a little above that, were both staring at me with their mouths open. Thorin crouched next to Fíli, then stood up.

"He is alive," he said, visibly relaxing.

Kíli let out a relieved sigh. He hurried down to get to his older brother, and kneeled next to him to try to wake him up.

It was just then that a loud scream came from some place near.

It was Tauriel, and she was being attacked by Bolg.

Kíli's eyes grew wide in horror – he knew, too.

"Tauriel," he muttered. He got to his feet and ran off to the place where the sound came from. That was good – otherwise Tauriel would be killed – but I needed to act quickly, before Kíli would be killed, too.

All of a sudden, the leader inside of me woke up.

"Thorin," I yelled, "get over here and finish this guy off."

I pointed at Azog, who was still unconscious, but I knew he'd wake up any time soon.

"I'm going after Kíli and distract Bolg. And both of you..." I looked at Thorin and Fíli, "stay alive."

Thank goodness they didn't ask questions. I made my way down as fast as I could, while Thorin followed the same path upwards. I broke into a sprint as soon as I reached smoother grounds.

I was just in time, once again; Bolg had already thrown Tauriel onto the ground and Kíli onto a set of stairs, and he had bent over the last one in a threatening pose.

I couldn't really think of anything, so I just yelled: "'Hey, you! Fat-ass!"

Bolg spun around immediately, pointing his attention to me, and started to stamp towards me. I jogged in another direction.

"Come and get me, you dumbfuck!"

Luckily, that gave Kíli just enough time to scramble up, grab his bow and an arrow, and shoot Bolg through his head. The Orc crashed down immediately.

I locked eyes with Kíli. We were both out of breath; I could see his chest heaving from ten metres distance. I gave a nod, and he returned the gesture, and I turned around to help Tauriel up. She gave me a breathless smile.

"Thank you," she said, and I couldn't say anything else than "No problem."

The following quiet was interrupted by a cry; a loud, raw cry. I couldn't help but feel frustrated, though I knew very well what was going on.

I knew that Thorin was about to be killed, and that he was probably screaming because Azog had pierced his foot, but couldn't there be any moment of fucking _rest?_ But there wasn't, and I wasn't planning on getting it at the cost of someone's life.

I dug up the little bit of energy I had left and ran into that direction. I heard that the Dwarf and the Elf I had just saved followed my lead.

When we arrived, Thorin was already lying on the ice, and Azog was on top of him, slowly cutting through his opponent's sword to eventually kill him.

I knew I'd never get there in time; I wasn't the best runner on ice, and I wasn't strong enough to kill the Orc. I spun around to give the two people behind me an order, but they already knew.

They aimed carefully, and before Azog even knew it, his head had been pierced by two arrows. He was dead in an instant.

The three of us broke into a run simultaneously. I slipped on the ice a couple of times, but I was happy to know that I wouldn't have to hurry off it again. I was done for today. The Battle would be won by the other armies, and it would be really soon.

With the help of Tauriel and Kíli, I rolled Azog's body off Thorin.

The King gasped a simple "Thank you", but he obviously wasn't prepared for the hug his nephew was going to give to him. They both started sobbing of happiness, and maybe a little of pain, because Thorin's foot was, well, pretty much fucked up, and because we'd find out that Kíli had broken a couple of ribs later on, but mostly happiness.

When Fíli came stumbling around the corner, a couple of minutes later, a huge smile appeared on his face, and he ran towards his family and threw himself into the hug.

Tauriel and I were looking a little uncomfortably at the pile of joyfully hugging Dwarves, although both with a smile on our faces.

A lot of manly tears were spilled that day, but none of sadness.

It wasn't until the sun had started to set that they finally stood up and started to walk back to the Lonely Mountain, the two brothers supporting their uncle. Tauriel had left by then, probably to help in Dale, where they had used some houses to aid the injured.

We, of course, didn't go there; the Company wanted a victory party that evening, and nobody wanted to miss that, right?

Right.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **It took me slightly longer to write this, but it's longer than the previous chapters, so I hope that makes it up. I loved this chapter, and I hope you loved it, too! Please let me know what you think, I'm a little uncertain about if it's all right or if it's unrealistic or something :P**_


	6. A Well-Deserved Celebration

**Warnings: None. None at all.**

* * *

 _The day of the Battle of the Five Armies, late in the evening_

 _Thorin_

* * *

It was long after nightfall when I finally managed to calm the whole Company down a little and get them to sit in a circle. Seventeen stools, each of them occupied by a glad-looking Dwarf, or Man, or Elf, or Hobbit, or Wizard. Tauriel was there, and Bilbo, and Gandalf, and, of course, Sam.

She was laughing, but I knew that she was planning to leave after the feast had ended, and that was why I had brought everyone here for a moment.

I got to my feet, a little shakily, because I was not able to stand on my right foot. Fíli and Kíli immediately rushed towards me, but I calmed them down with a gesture of my hand and a smile.

"Friends," I said loudly, "I have paused the feast for a moment because I want you to hear something, before you are all too drunk to listen."

A chuckle passed through the group.

"I would like to thank all of you, for having faith in me even after I have done such terrible things, and I would like to apologize to Sam, for not listening to her advice."

She grinned at that.

"I would also like to thank her, for saving not only Fíli's life and Kíli's life, but also mine. Perhaps she has not saved me directly, but saving the people that have saved me counts just as well."

I looked her in the eyes. "Thank you."

The Company applauded, and the young girl stood up and bowed.

"Don't make them like me too much," she said, smiling brightly. "They'll be sad when I leave."

"Yes," I replied. "Yes, we will."

I realised that it had gone completely silent.

"Is she?" Kíli asked, suddenly sounding concerned. He turned to Sam. "Are you going to leave?"

She nodded, a little sadly.

"I have to," she replied. "I can't stay much longer. I'd love to, really, but I've done what I've got to do here. Don't worry, though," she continued, "I'll visit sometime. Promise. And I'll stay until dawn, when Bilbo'll leave, too. Then we can say goodbye together. That'll be more practical, I think."

Her voice trailed off surprisedly as she looked up, and when I turned my head, I saw that all the people in the room had stood up and were bowing to her. I followed their lead after a moment.

She frowned, but was obviously trying to stifle a laugh.

"What is..." she began, but I cut her off with the answer.

"This is a sign of respect and gratefulness, Tale-Changer."

Completely unexpectedly – or perhaps not completely – she exploded with laughter.

"Pff," she snorted, "c'mon, guys. I don't deserve that. Seriously, sit back down, you'll hurt yourself."

But nobody did, and she became serious.

"Wow," she said breathlessly, "you're serious. Whoa. Thanks."

I smiled and straightened up, nearly losing my balance, causing my nephews to jump up again. It was almost funny to see how they were literally trying to catch me if I fell, although I had told them many times in the past couple of hours that I was not much more wounded as they were.

Kíli had broken five ribs after being thrown onto a set of stairs, and Fíli had a concussion and he had also bruised his left shoulder, so he had that arm in a sling. They were both just as stubborn as their old uncle, though, and they kept insisting that they were fine, and that they could join the celebration and that they did not need to stay in bed and rest.

It ran in the family, as it seemed; I did not want to, either, and I had never felt more alive, despite nearly being killed. Perhaps I felt like that because I had nearly been killed – I did not know.

I realised that a silence had fallen, and I cleared my throat.

"All right," I said. "That was all I wanted to say. You can go on with what you were doing."

I sat back down. Most of the Dwarves of the Company took the offer happily, and they returned to the barrels with beer to fill up their beakers. Gandalf watched them with a smile on his face and blew a colorful smoke-ring from his pipe. He and the much smaller Hobbit next to him continued to talk, throwing an occasional laugh in.

Tauriel moved over to the seat next to Kíli, and she carefully touched the bandage around his chest. I could not hear what he said in reply, but he seemed to assure her that he was fine.

Perhaps, if today's happenings had not happened, I would not like the fact that an Elf and my nephew started a relationship, and perhaps I would even try to drive them apart, but they had saved my life, together, and the least I could do was to be thankful for that. Maybe, just maybe, I could be happy that they both found love so early in their lives.

My line of thought was interrupted by my Company, who started to hum a quick melody. I knew that they were starting a song, but I had never heard this melody before. Perhaps they had thought up a new one. It would not surprise me.

The persons who started to sing first, were Fíli and Kíli.

 _We must be grateful for the rest of our lives_

 _For she is the reason that we're still alive_

 _Saving us all from ugly Orcs_

 _With quick thinking and swift footwork_

After that line, the other Dwarves started to sing.

I glanced at Sam; she was just sitting there, very still, and with a stunned smile on her face.

Most of the Dwarves were already very drunk, and that was probably where the second line came from.

 _We know her knowledge comes only from books_

 _But for a student she had really good looks_

 _Saving our King, and saving his kin_

 _And now still exists the line of Durin_

I knew the song had probably ended, because everybody stopped singing, but I felt like it was not finished yet, so I quickly stood up and sang two more lines.

 _Rescuing us from approaching danger_

 _Let us all thank our dear Tale-Changer!_

An applause broke loose, and as I clapped along, I finally lost my balance, but I could not help but laugh. My nephews rushed forwards to help me up, and they scolded at me, but to be honest, I could not care less.

It was the best feast I had taken part in in ages.

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **Yes, the song's mine. Let me know what you think!**_


	7. A Good-Bye and a Promise

**Warnings: None.**

* * *

 _Day four, early in the morning_

 _Sam_

* * *

The sun had only just risen when I stepped out of the front gate. It was cold, really cold, and my breath formed small clouds in front of my face.

Fortunately, I wasn't alone; five other people were standing next to me. Bilbo planned to go home, and Gandalf would accompany him. Fíli and Kíli had packed their bags, too, because they wanted to go back to their mother. Tauriel would go with them.

The remaining Dwarves were still standing inside, with somewhat sad looks on their faces. They probably didn't want to say goodbye yet, to all of us.

Bilbo turned around and waved at them – he and Gandalf were starting to leave, now.

"Goodbye!" he said. "I hope I will see you again. All of you."

He turned around, but then seemed to change his mind, and shouted over his shoulder: "Tea is at four. There is plenty of it. You are always welcome."

He waved one last time, and then he had disappeared in the morning mist.

I turned around to see Kíli and Fíli hugging their uncle tightly. He grinned and pulled back to look both of them in the eyes.

"Be safe," he said softly. "Do not get yourself killed. And tell Dís that I send her the best regards."

Fíli nodded. "We will. Goodbye, Uncle."

The three of them group-hugged one last time before the two brothers walked over to me.

"We cannot thank you enough," Kíli said. His brother nodded in agreement.

I grinned.

"You already have thanked me way too many times," I replied. "It's making me feel awkward. Nothing personal, but..."

My voice trailed off when I saw them glance at each other, and a mischievous grin appeared on their faces. Before I could even ask what was going on, they had wrapped their arms around me.

Well, that was pretty much the peak of awkwardness. I had no idea how to react, so I just stood there with a bright red face.

The worst thing was that we were all three about the same height, so when I finally decided to hug back, I accidentally headbutted them.

"Ow!" Fíli yelped, pulling back and rubbing his forehead.

I felt my eyes grow huge.

"Sorry, sorry!" I shouted, but he just laughed and replied: "Just kidding, I was just kidding."

I fake-scowled at him and hit him on the back of his head, but he couldn't stop laughing. I felt a smile take over my face.

God, I was already missing these guys.

"Shall we meet again next year?" I asked. "Same place, same time, Just make sure there aren't any wars on the planning."

They chuckled and nodded.

"Okay," I said. "See ya, guys."

They waved at me and started to walk away, Tauriel going with them. She spun around as soon as she was past me.

"You have courage, kid," she said. "Just try to watch your language a little next time."

I grinned. "Will do. And thanks."

She gave a nod and ran off to catch up with Fíli and Kíli. When they had disappeared from my sight, it was time for me to leave.

I waved at the group of Dwarves in the doorway before taking off my ring and spinning it around in my hand three times.

The world started to fade away; the mountain, the ground, even the mist disappeared. A dizzying feeling took over my mind, and I closed my eyes, knowing that when I'd open them again, I'd be back in my own, boring universe.


	8. A Long-Expected Visit

_**A/N:**_

 _ **Hey guys, it's me again!**_

 _ **Yes, I've decided that this story has not yet come to an end, so I'm going to make it longer! Yaay!**_

 _ **It takes place about a year after when this story began.**_

 _ **I might change some things, because I'm not sure if it's going to work out like I've got the idea in my head, and it could also take a little longer before I can update, because I'm kinda busy with school and all, and I've also got a really nasty cold, which doesn't help either.**_

 _ **Anyway, enjoy! (and please let me know what you think of it, I always love reading reviews!)**_

* * *

 **Warnings: None, I guess.**

* * *

 _Three days before Durin's day, before noon_

 _Thorin_

* * *

With a small smile on my face, I looked down at the hallways of Erebor.

Unlike I had thought it would ever be again, they were filled with Dwarves – men, women and children. I had never thought there would be so many of us left. The news of Smaug's death had spread like wild-fire, and Dwarves had come from all directions of the wind to see what was left of their home. They, of course, were welcomed with opened arms.

Even though I had been a king for a year, it still felt strange. I was starting to notice that I was not like my grandfather at all. He had just sat on his throne all the time, giving orders to everyone, and watching his people work.

I, on the other hand, had a rough time even sitting still for a moment.

Most of the time, I was helping the other Dwarves and doing tasks, until someone – most often Óin – told me to sit down and rest. I had had to ask him a couple of times, very friendly of course, to please keep his mouth shut. The others thought I was weak, because I had fainted once, somewhere in the month after my foot had been pierced – just once! They would probably pass out a couple of times, too, if they had lost that much blood.

I sighed and let my fingers drum lightly on the arm of my throne. I hated doing nothing. If I allowed myself to freely speak my mind, I missed the times of adventure.

Then a happier thought popped up inside my head, and I grinned. Durin's day was coming near, and so was the meeting we had planned last year. I had not forgotten about it, nor had any member of the Company; we were really looking forward to it.

It was just when I was thinking about that when a messenger ran up the stairs, towards me. It was one of the younger Dwarves, and the poor boy was totally out of breath. He put his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath.

"What is it?" I asked him. "Did the guards see something?"

The Dwarves took turn in guarding the gate, just in case the Orcs came back, or something else nasty.

The kid nodded.

"Four hooded people," he gasped out, "three of them are short, one of them is tall. Might be dangerous."

But I knew they were not. Thanking the messenger, I rose from the throne and started to hurry towards the gate. The boy followed me, a little sheepishly, and tried to keep up with me.

As soon as I reached the gate and saw the figures that were approaching us, I started to run, into the pouring rain. It had been raining extraordinarily hard for the past couple of days, and I was soaking wet in a couple of seconds, but I could not care less. One of the guards yelled something about catching a cold. I did not listen.

One of the shorter figures – Dwarves, definitely Dwarves – threw off its hood and revealed itself to be my sister. She broke into a run, and threw her arms around me as soon as she reached me.

Two pairs of footsteps followed, making small, splashing sounds in the puddles of water on the hard ground, and before I even realised what was happening, I was embraced by three people; Dís, Fíli and Kíli. Tauriel, the fourth person, approached more slowly and more graceful, and she respectfully kept her distance.

For a good long while, we just stood there, and the only sound around us was the soft ticking of the rain on the ground. Then we pulled back to face one another.

"I have missed you," I said, smiling broadly. I was so happy to see my family again, I thought my heart was going to explode. "How are you? What have you done in the time that you were gone? I hope you did not get in trouble again, did you?"

I noticed that I was bouncing up and down. Not very majestic.

"Come in, tell me everything!"

Dís grinned at seeing her older brother so excited – I wondered if she had ever seen me acting like that. Probably not. I was always the serious one when we still lived together.

I smiled again – a smile too big for my face – and started to lead the small group into the Mountain. There was not really a drawing room, so we just went to the place where my throne was standing and sat down on the stairsteps.

Then my sister and my nephews started to talk. Dís told us that she had been staying in the Iron Hills after her sons had left, and that they had arrived somewhere in the end of the winter. Dáin had almost sent Tauriel away, but fortunately, Kíli had convinced him to let her stay. It had taken them until midnight, so Fíli told, to tell their mother everything they had gone through. She had scolded at them quite a few times for all the trouble they had gotten into, but mostly she was just happy to see that her sons were alive and well.

When they had stopped speaking, I cast a suspicious look on my family.

"There is something you are not telling me," I said slowly, a smile forming on my lips as I saw the very innocent looks on their faces. "I can sense it."

At that, Kíli gave in, and he smirked broadly. He glanced at Tauriel, and, a little hesitantly, they stood up, holding hands. I guess I had already guessed it by then.

"We, eh..." Kíli began. I could tell that he was incredibly nervous. "Tauriel and I, eh..."

"We are engaged," the redheaded Elf finished.

They locked eyes, and an unspoken something passed between the two of them.

"We, eh... It would be very nice if you could give us your blessing."

I raised my eyebrows.

"Why?" I asked, maybe a little too boldly. Kíli flinched. "I am the father of neither of you. If you ask me, you can marry whoever you want. I do not think I have something to decide about it."

I did not think the couple knew how to react.

"So..." my nephew asked, "...you do not mind if I marry an Elf?"

 _Ah._

 _So that is what troubles him._

I shook my head.

"My hatred for Elves has faded long ago," I replied. "Especially for Tauriel. I cannot hate someone who saved my life, Elf or not." I could feel my expression soften. "Congratulations."


	9. An Unexpected Problem

**Warnings: Dog hatred. Some drool from the dog that's being hated. Nothing bad.**

* * *

 _October 18th, early in the afternoon_

 _Sam_

* * *

"Mom?"

No answer.

"Mooooom!"

"Yes, Sam?"

"D'ya know where my ring is?"

"What ring?"

"The silver one, with the green stones."

"It's probably where you left it."

"It's not."

"Why do you need it?"

"I… I just need it! Do you know where it is?"

"No. But you'll find it eventually, dear."

"But I need it _now!_ "

My mother didn't reply, which was smart because this argument was going nowhere, and I just sat down on the floor, in the middle of the mess that was my room. I had practially turned it upside down and inside out, but I hadn't found my ring. And that sucked, because the 19th of October was near, and I had promised to be at the Lonely Mountain by then. If I wanted to be there in time – and I wanted to – then I had to start leaving.

I stood up and banged on the wall between my and my sister's room.

"Soph?"

There was a moment of silence before my younger sister replied; she was probably listening to music with her headphones on.

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen my ring?"

She thought.

"The silver one?" she then asked.

Hope exploded inside of me.

"Yes, that one! You seen it?"

She thought again.

"Evie and I played with it a couple of days ago," she then replied. "Haven't seen it since then. Maybe she has taken it home."

"What?" I yelled, my hope shattering. Fucking kids these days!

"It's not like you ever wear it," Sophie said, and I felt like I could rip every single hair out of my head.

Instead, I pulled myself together and plucked my bike's keys off my desk.

"Where does Evie live?" I asked, forcing myself to stay calm and hope the little brat hadn't put it on and had gotten stuck inside another dimension.

In that case, I'd be in serious trouble. They'd take my ring away, and even worse, they'd wipe every memory of what I had done. And that'd _really_ suck.

"She lives in the apartment building next to the bakery," my little sister replied.

I growled a curse under my breath. The bakery was on the other side of the village.

 _Great._

I yelled a "Thanks" and sprinted downstairs, through the hall, into the front yard, where I unlocked my bike and started to race towards Evie's house. I almost got run over twice, and I nearly squashed a pigeon myself, but I made it.

I threw my bike onto the fence, not caring about whether it was locked or not, and dashed into the apartment building. There were small discs with the occupants' names on each door, and I had found Evie's pretty quickly. I pressed the door bell, and after a couple of seconds, a woman – presumably the kid's mother – opened up.

She gave me a strange look. I must've looked ridiculous; hair in all directions, out of breath, wearing only socks and two different ones, and probably a face like a tomato. We stared at each other before the woman asked: "Can I help you?"

I nodded.

"Is Evie at home?"

She shook her head.

"No."

"Because," I explained quickly, "she has met with Sophie somewhere last week, and she took a ring with her. That ring's mine. I'd like to have it back. It's kinda important."

The woman frowned.

"I'll see if I can find it," she replied. "Come in."

I stepped into the apartment, and she shut the door behind me. Then she left me there, in the hallway, with a quick "I'll be back in a moment."

As soon as she had walked away, I was attacked by a huge dog. Well, maybe it wasn't _meant_ as an attack, but it certainly _felt_ like one. The beast jumped against me, and drooled all over me, and nearly pushed me over with its heaviness. I wasn't afraid of it, I just didn't like it.

Stupid animals. They drool everywhere, they shit everywhere, and they leave hair everywhere. I unwillingly decided that I just had to endure it – hopefully, at least, I'd get my ring back – but that woman was taking loooong. Much longer than a moment, as she had said.

It seemed to last an eternity before she finally got back. She held up a ring.

"Is this the ring you meant?"

My heart sunk.

It wasn't.

This ring was a plastic, pink, glittery ring with 'Barbie' written on it in fat white letters. I didn't understand how this woman could think that this was the ring of a sixteen-year-old. She surely didn't have much experience with teenagers.

"No," I said.

I was growing a little frustrated. Maybe it had something to do with the dog that was hanging on me. I gently pushed him away – well, I meant to do it like that, but in fact, I nearly threw the animal off me – and just like that, I saw a glimpse of something shiny in the corner of my eye. I looked and felt my eyes grow huge.

The dog.

Was wearing.

My ring.

I couldn't get the words out of my mouth fast enough.

"Your… Your dog has it!" I shouted out.

I didn't wait for the woman to reply. I crouched down and carefully started to pry the ring off the hairy paw. Unfortunately, the dog apparently thought that I wanted to kiss him or something, so he gave me a smelly, wet lick over my entire face. I swallowed away the urge to vomit and stood up, the ring in my hand.

I could only get "Thank you, ma'am" out of my mouth before I ran away, making unhumanly high-pitched, happy sounds. I must've looked insane, but I didn't give a single shit. I had my ring back! Just in time. I hadn't felt this good since I had gotten an A for my English test, three weeks ago.

That feeling stayed there, where it was, as I raced back home – thank goodness nobody had stolen my bike – and packed my bags.

I had learned from last time that it wasn't smart to go to Middle-Earth without weapons and food, so I sneaked a knife from the kitchen, and some canned stuff, like soup. I had just walked back to my room, arms filled with soup cans, when the doorbell rang. I frowned, put the cans down and walked over to the window that looked over the drive.

Two men were standing in front of the door, one tall and one small, both dressed in simple leather jackets. I recognized them immediately by the logo on the jackets. They were people of the Dimensional Travelling Police, the Ditrapo, and I had a slight supposition what they were doing here, although I really thought I hadn't broken any rules. Apparently, getting your ring stolen by a seven-year-old counts as a crime.

They were going to take my ring.

 _Why now?_ I wondered. _Why me?_

Then I got this marvellous idea. You see, travelling to another universe stops the time in the universe you were in when you began. That would mean that, if I was quick, I could visit my friends one more time before I'd lose the ring. It wasn't perfect, but I was pretty desperate at that moment, and it wasn't like I had many other options.

I left my bags for what they were – I was sure I could get weapons and something to eat if I wanted to. Then I took the ring out of my pocket and threw it in the air, hissing: "Middle Earth! Near Erebor!"

I caught the small thing again and closed my eyes. A really dizzying feeling took over my mind, the way it always did, but I knew it'd only last for seconds, so I didn't mind.

I opened my eyes again when the air around me began to grow cold, and I could feel people walking past me. I was standing on cobblestones, on a square, surrounded by houses. Around me, it was really busy. The square was filled with people, and every single one of them was carrying some sort of tool or something else. I thought that they were building their town back up, and my guess was proved right when I saw a sign with the words _"Baker Benett: Best Bread of Dale"._

I was in Dale, and I was really happy about that.

That meant that I wasn't far away from the Lonely Mountain, and not far away from my friends. It was probably only a walk of a couple of hours. I let out a sigh of relief, and it wasn't until then that I noticed that some woman on the other side of the square had stopped walking and was wispering to a man. They were pointing at me. I grinned at them and waved. The woman walked towards me.

"Do we know you?" she asked, somewhat suspiciously.

I shook my head.

"Don't think so," I replied, shrugging. "That'd be really weird, don't you think, seeing as I've never been here before."

The two villagers shared a look.

"We must take you to the King. Come."

These guys weren't all too friendly, but I was willing to do what I was asked to do. If they decided to lock me up, it'd take me even longer to be in time for the meeting.

The man and the woman led me through a couple of wide streets, and then the man knocked on a door.

"Come in," a voice replied.

The woman, who had grabbed my wrist by then, probably so that I wouldn't run away, pushed the door open, to reveal a half-finished room. The stone throne in the middle of the chamber was empty, to my surprise, and to my accompanists'.

The man shuffled his feet awkwardly for a moment before a man came walking towards him. He was holding a hammer in his hand, and his forehead was covered in small drops of sweat. He was wearing simple clothes: a brown shirt, grey trousers, and black boots. The funny thing was that he was, in fact, the king of Dale, but he didn't look like a king at all.

The man and the woman, who were standing on each side of me, bowed, and so did I, though I was pretty amused by all this.

"King Bard," the woman said after he had straightened up again. "We found this stranger on the square. I do not know how she got past the guards."

"We thought it would be wise to let our King decide what to do with her," the man added.

Bard gave a nod, and the man dropped his gaze. I, on the other side, looked the King straight in the eyes. The other people in the room must've thought that I had no respect inside of me, but I knew when someone liked to be treated like a king, and Bard certainly didn't. He was just a normal man.

"Good thinking, Aveline and Ricchar," he said to the man.

Then he turned to me, bending a little forwards to study my face, probably because I was really small. I had to force myself to not look offended. He squinted a little.

"I believe I have seen you before," he said slowly. "The Tale-Changer, am I right? Sam."

I nodded.

"Bilbo told you about me when he brought you guys the Arkenstone, didn't he?"

"Yes. Yes, he did."

Bard straightened up.

"What brings you here?" he asked me. "Any tales to change? Did something go wrong?"

I let out a chuckle at his worried tone.

"No, just visiting," I replied. "I came to see my friends again."

Bard nodded understandingly.

"The Dwarves in the Lonely Mountain, I assume?"

"Yep."

"I hope you aren't planning on inviting the Orcs?" he asked, half jokingly. It reminded me of something I had said last year.

Grinning, I shook my head. I didn't want to start a war, and get people killed. Again.

Little did I know that the Dwarves – or some of them, at least – had something else in mind.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **Dun-dun-dun-duuuunnnnn!**_

 _ **No, not really. Just a mention of a war. That will come.**_

 _ **Slightly longer chapter this time, and there are quite some things that've been revealed (Sam's family? Some more things about her ring? The stuff that happened to Dale after the Battle of the Five Armies? There's a war coming and not even Sam knows of it?) but, as I said earlier, there might be some things that I'll change. I'm not sure yet if that Distapo thing will work, or what exactly I'm going to do with it (yes, I'm very bad at planning, I just get ideas and then they have to be in that story, no matter what). So... I'm not sure where I was going with this Author's Note, but oh well.**_

 _ **Also THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ONE THOUSAND AND FIFTY VIEWS! It really means a lot to me. Thank you, and I love you, guys! (okay, that sounded cheesy, but you get what I mean, right?)**_

 _ **xxx**_


	10. A Plan of War

**Warnings: None.**

* * *

 _The day before Durin's Day, around midnight_

 _Thorin_

* * *

I was sitting on my throne, alone, with my chin resting on my hand and an incredible feeling of happiness inside of me.

Tauriel had gone for a walk, and my sister and nephews had gone to sleep early, for they were exhausted after their long journey. I, however, was certain that I would not be able to fall asleep yet, so I had decided to stay awake for a little longer, but 'a little longer' turned out to be three hours.

Gods, I was so happy to see them again! My entire world had seemed to become a little brighter. Perhaps that was why I had felt so bad this morning; I was not missing the times of adventure, I was simply missing my family.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of somebody approaching. I looked up, right into Balin's face.

I straightened up.

"Hello, Balin," I friendly greeted him.

He smiled back from behind his white beard.

"Hello, Thorin," he replied. "Can I speak to you for a moment?"

"Of course."

"Well," the older Dwarf began, "some of us are planning to leave, and reclaim Khazad-dûm. We were wondering if you wanted to come with us, and if not, wanted to give us your permission."

I felt a frown appear on my face as I thought.

Honestly, it did not seem like such a bad idea. There were many of us by now, enough to outnumber the Orcs and Trolls that had taken over Moria. We could take it back. It would be nice – and that was a _huge_ understatement – to finish what my grandfather had started almost a hundred and fifty years ago.

It was tempting, sure, it was, but it would be dangerous, too. There were Orcs in the underground city, and since their leader had been killed not very long ago, I had reasons to think that they would like some revenge as well. They did not like the descendants of Durin before, and they certainly liked us even less now. If I decided to go, I had to leave Fíli and Kíli behind, despite the fact that they would probably do anything to come with me.

I felt my eyebrows knit together even more as I looked up at Balin.

"When are you planning to leave?"

"The day after Durin's Day," the white-bearded Dwarf replied. "It is quick, but we figured it would be better if we'd leave before the rumours of an attack could reach Moria."

I nodded.

"Good thinking," I said, getting up from my throne. I started to pace around it.

"How long will it take us to get there?"

I noticed that I said 'us'. Apparently, subconsciously, I had already made the decision.

"Two weeks, if we are lucky. Longer if we go around Mirkwood."

I put my hands behind my back.

We would not have to go around Mirkwood; we had Tauriel, and I was positive that she knew her way around there, but if we took her with us, that would give us an entirely different problem. Two problems, actually: one, Kíli would want to come with us if she came with us, and two, one of them could die, and I did not want that, especially now that they were planning to marry.

So now our only options were to either possibly get lost and get eaten by spiders in Mirkwood, or go around the forest, be safe, but add a couple of weeks to the time we would use to travel. Then we would have to carry more food with us, and the extra weight would only slow us down.

"We should go through Mirkwood," I said out loud. "But we have to leave Tauriel here, despite that she knows the way. We must make sure that Fíli and Kíli stay here as well."

Balin pulled a notebook out of one of his many pockets and scribbled something in it.

"Noted," he announced.

I barely heard him; I was still lost in my thoughts.

"How many of us will come?"

"Most of the Dwarves that are here, except some of the women and most of the children. We've decided that it would not be wise to ask Dáin and his men. They would brag about it, spread the word, and it would make it dangerous for us. The other Dwarves are too far away to ask for help."

"Are there any chances of bringing the Tale-Changer with us?"

That question seemed to surprise Balin. He raised his eyebrows.

"Sam?" he asked. "Do you want to take her with you?"

"She is a good fighter."

"It's dangerous."

"I will ask her about it," I said, my tone showing clearly that this argument was over.

I yawned loudly.

"Now, if you can excuse me, I am going to sleep. Good night."

And as I walked away, I did not notice the crouched figure who was sitting in the shadows, and who was starting to make his way back to his room a lot more quickly and swiftly than he used to.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **Any suppositions on who the person in the shadows could be? :)**_

 _ **PS: I've discovered that I've made a huge mistake by overestimating the time they'd have to travel to get to Moria; it's about two weeks instead of six months, as I thought earlier, so I've changed that. Oops :P**_


	11. A Stranger in Strange Clothes

**Warnings: People only wearing underwear. In case you can't handle that.**

* * *

 _The day before Durin's Day, before midnight_

 _Fíli_

* * *

"Fíli. Fíli. Wake up!"

I moaned quietly as my younger brother shook my shoulders. I rolled on my side without even opening my eyes.

"What?"

"They are making plans to take Moria back, brother."

He sounded excited about it, and also a little offended, for a reason I did not understand.

"Who are?"

"I heard Uncle Thorin and Balin speak of it," Kíli replied, "and they are planning to leave without us!"

I shot upright, nearly headbutting my brother, and gave him an incredulous look.

"What?" I shout-whispered. "That is unfair!"

Deep down, of course, I understood why Uncle would want to leave us behind – it would probably be dangerous, and he wanted to protect us – but then again, he knew that we loved doing dangerous things, especially Kíli, and that we would come with them no matter what. Also without permission. Of course Uncle knew that. He had known us for over seventy years, and we had sneaked into quite a few adventures in that time.

I felt a mischievous smile dawn over my face, and Kíli looked back at me the same way.

"He does not seriously think that we are going to stay here, does he?"

My brother grinned.

"I do not hope so," he replied in the same manner. "In that case, he is going to be very disappointed, I'm afraid."

"When will they leave?"

"In two days. They seemed excited, so they will probably depart somewhere in the early morning."

"Good. Then we will have the shadow and the morning mist. It will take some time before they recognize our faces under our hoods."

"I know, brother. We have used this strategy a hundred times before."

The words had not even left his mouth yet when someone knocked on the door to our room, nearly giving the both of us a heart attack because we thought it was Uncle Thorin.

"Prince Fíli and Prince Kíli?" the voice on the other side of the door asked. It was certainly not Uncle Thorin; this voice was small, almost girlish.

After we glanced at each other, wondering what was going on, I replied: "Yes?"

"I am messenger tonight," the girl – it must be a girl, right? – explained, "and one of the guards saw a stranger in strange clothes approaching. I was told that I had to leave the King alone, but perhaps one of you can see if it's all right?"

My brother and I shared a look again, and I knew we both thought the same thing. We both raced towards the door, pulled it open, nearly knocked the young messenger over – it was indeed a girl – and started to run towards the front gate, both wearing only our black underpants.

The tiny girl followed us, shouting: "Hey, wait up! Perhaps it'd be wise to put on some trousers first!"

We ignored her, and perhaps it was not the politest thing we had ever done, but I think I could speak for both Kíli and myself when I say that we could not care less.

And that, my dear children, is the story of how the two Princes of Erebor ran out of the front gate wearing nothing but their underwear and knocked a young Tale-Changer off her feet as they hugged her but also could not stop running and then fell on top of her.

Sam let out a startled yelp as she hit the ground.

"Help! I'm under attack!" she screamed, but then realised what had happened and burst into laughter. "I missed you too, guys," she said jokingly, "but was it really necessary to tackle me?"

She tried to escape, but failed.

"And get off me! You're heavy."

I moved away and got to my knees, but Kíli climbed on top of her, pushed her shoulders to the ground and yelled: "Never!"

The redheaded girl reacted by rolling him over and pushing him to the ground herself.

"Pinned ya," she said with a mocking grin.

I chuckled at that. My brother was never a person to underestimate women, but occasions were rare that he got into a fight with one of them – and lost.

Sam watched him struggle for a few more moments before she climbed off him. Then she pulled the two of us into a big group hug.

"Goodness, I really missed you," she said into my shoulder. "There's been quite a few times where I had to physically withold myself from coming back."

"Aww, we missed you, too," Kíli replied. "Why else would we risk freezing to death for you?"

Sam took a step back, probably noticing only now that we had nearly no clothes on, and looked at her feet when she noticed.

"Yeah, I get what you mean," she said.

It was dark, but I could see very well that her cheeks had darkened.

"We should get inside."

When we got to the front gate, one of the female guards' mouth dropped a little open as she stared at us, or, more precisely, me and my brother. Sam smacked her on the back of her head as we passed by. The guard looked at her with an insulted look on her face.

"Show some respect," Sam hissed, as if she was taking it very seriously, which she obviously was not. "Not only are they the Princes, for goodness' sake, but one of them's engaged, too! Look at other people's asses, will ya?"

Then she took back her place next to us. Kíli was biting his lip very hard to prevent himself from laughing, and I just could not hide the smile on my face. Sam had not changed at all, and I was very happy to see that. Perhaps some of her traits had gotten even better than they were before.

"Welcome back, Tale-Changer."

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **Yay! Sam has reunited with the Dwarves again!**_

 _ **This chapter was really fun to write. (And did anyone catch the Lion King reference?)**_

 _ **What did you think of this chapter? Reviews are always welcome! :)**_


	12. A War in the Dining Room

**Warnings: None.**

* * *

 _October 19th, about seven in the evening_

 _Sam_

* * *

I was sitting on a wooden bench next to a long table, squeezed between Fíli and an older Dwarf I had not met before. The entire room was filled with people; apparently, the Dwarves didn't eat alone, in their quarters, but along with everyone in Erebor. It was pretty busy and very loud, but I found it kinda cosy, although I had nearly zero personal space.

I wriggled forward to load another drumstick on my plate. I had just taken a bite when I realised that Fíli had been talking to me. I quickly swallowed the meat.

"What?" I yelled over the noise.

Fíli moved closer to me.

"I said that I need to talk to you about something."

I raised my eyebrows and took another mouthful of the chicken.

"Okay, tell me."

"Kíli overheard Uncle Thorin telling Balin that the Dwarves are going to try to take back Moria. Do you know what that is?"

The ancient Dwarven kingdom under the Misty Mountains.

Duh.

"M-hm."

The blond Dwarf looked me right in the eyes with an expression on his face that was hard to read.

"They want to take you with them."

"Okay. Cool."

Those were literally the only thoughts in my head at that moment. I knew that, at some point in Middle-Earth history, the Dwarves would try to and succeed in reclaiming Moria. I just hadn't thought that they'd do it this early, but why wouldn't they? They had their king, and two of the best warriors that Erebor had ever had. And they had me. If something went wrong, I could go back and fix it.

That is, if I didn't die, but I knew that I probably wouldn't fuck up that bad. What could go wrong?

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Fíli's voice.

"So you are coming with us?"

While he said the sentence, a mischievous smile spread over his face. I squinted as I began to suspect something.

"They didn't want you to come with them, did they? You and Kíli," I asked, but I didn't get an answer.

Before the prince could reply, a tomato hit the side of his face, and he spun around quicker than my eyes could follow. His brother was looking at him with a smirk on his face – there was no doubt that he was the one who threw the vegetable.

Fíli rose from his seat very slowly, his hand grabbing one of the drumsticks from the bowl in front of me. Then he hurled it at Kíli. He could duck just in time, and the meat smacked against the wall behind him.

Somebody on the other side of the room yelled "Food fight!" and before I even knew it, food was flying everywhere as people tried to hit one another with it. Eggs stuck to the ceiling, the gravy bowl was knocked over and potatoes were used like snowballs. Even Tauriel and Thorin eventually gave in and joined us.

It was a fun food fight for about five minutes.

It became dangerous when someone, AKA Fíli, made the mistake of throwing an egg into my hair.

I immediately grabbed a fish and hurled towards him, roaring: "You're gonna regret that!"

He tried to flee, but I was quicker, and I jumped onto his back and started to hit him with the fish. He burst out laughing and tried to shake me off him, but didn't succeed.

"That's what you get for messing with my hair!" I yelled, slapping him with the fish at each word.

Then I let him go, but I didn't have mercy on him just yet; not before I had rubbed an egg into his beautiful locks. That'd teach him.

I was just proudly walking away when a potato slammed against the back of my head. I whipped around to see a satisfied smirk on the blond prince's face, egg goob dripping into his eyes, but when he saw the look on my face, he seemed to get a little scared.

"Will you have peace, or will you have war?" he asked jokingly, probably hoping he could distract me.

I picked up a half loaf of bread that was lying on the floor, threw it in the air, caught it, and replied dramatically: "I will have war."

And that is how a fun food fight turned into a very serious food war.

It took Fíli and me three hours to get the egg stuff out of our hair, and it took even longer to clean up the dining room, but it was fun to do, because everyone was doing it together, occasionally singing a song.

So much for my first and possibly last meal under the Lonely Mountain.

I was already missing this place.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 ** _I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Really. It was nice to make my characters have a little fun before they leave for a journey they might not return from... (evil laughter because I have thought up a nice ending for my story and you're not going to like it... Muhahahaha)_**


	13. A Dwarf Preparing for a Journey

**Warnings: None.**

* * *

 _The day after Durin's Day, very early in the morning_

 _Kíli_

* * *

I was standing outside, my hood half pulled over my face and my quiver with arrows and my bow slung over my shoulder. It was cold and misty, but I did not care much. I had loved mist and shadow since I was just a little Dwarfling; they made great hiding places at hide and seek.

I shifted and stared into the distance, for as far that was possible.

By the end of the day, we would have reached the edge of Mirkwood, and after that, the adventure would truly begin. I shivered at the memory of the huge spiders that lurked inside that forest. I was not sure what would have happened to us if Bilbo or the Elves had not been there to rescue us.

My mind wandered to Tauriel. I was going to miss her, for sure. She had tried to convince me to take her with me, but I refused; I did not want anything to happen to her. Of course that was a foolish thought, for the chances were bigger that I got hurt instead of her – even better, the chances were bigger that I got hurt because of her than that she got hurt –, and she had told me that at least five times this morning, but I had decided that I could not risk losing her. Not in this war. Not if Thorin had forbidden her to come, both of us, actually, and if she had to sneak in only to risk her life.

If you asked me, I would let her do whatever she wanted, but there was a limit. There was no way I was going to possibly let her die because I needed to be reckless again.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Uncle Thorin's voice, counting the Dwarves that went with us, and coming closer. I pulled the hood even farther over my face, so that only my mouth and chin would be in the light, and hoped he would not recognize me. I stiffened when he tapped my shoulder, but he only said "One hundred and ninety-four" and went on to the next Dwarf.

I let out a breath from which I had not known I had been holding it in. Just when I did that, I heard a familiar voice behind me.

"Daydreaming, hm?"

I did not look up.

"Kind of," I replied. "Preparing for the journey, I guess."

Sam chuckled.

"You know, it's not a big deal, really," she said, sounding half lost in her thoughts. "I've done the math, and we should be back in less than five weeks."

I sighed.

"I know that. The problem is just that we might not come back at all."

The redheaded girl's head snapped towards me, and we locked eyes. She seemed angry, all of a sudden, although I was not certain why.

"You listen to me," she said sharply, "if you, or Fíli, or Thorin, or Dís, or whoever's important to those people or for the future of Middle-Earth, dies out there, I swear I'll go back and fix it. Even if I break a thousand rules and they'll wipe my memory for it. Promise."

I did not know who 'they' were, but I decided not to ask about it. Instead, I stuttered: "T-Thank you. I truly appreciate that."

"You'd better. I'd risk forgetting you all."

Her voice suddenly grew vulnerable. I was just going to say something to comfort her, tell her that she probably would not even have to break the rules, that we would all be fine, but I was interrupted by Thorin's voice.

"We are leaving!" he yelled as loudly as possible. His words were repeated by several other Dwarves at different places in the group, so that everybody would hear it.

"Follow me!"

And so the journey began.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 ** _This chapter (and the next chapter as well) is really short, so I've decided to do a double update. The next one ends in a cliffhanger. Just so you know._**


	14. A Desire for Caffeine

**Warning: A cliffhanger.**

* * *

 _October 24th, either morning or afternoon_

 _Sam_

* * *

I wasn't sure how long we had been walking since breakfast. It could be hours, but it could be twenty minutes as well. I didn't know, didn't care.

My head hurt, my muscles hurt, pretty much everything hurt. The only thing I could do was drag my feet forwards, take another step, be another step closer to Moria.

The lack of oxygen in the Mirkwood forest was taking its toll on me. We had been walking there for the last three days. Fíli and Kíli had wandered off to somewhere else in the group on the first day, and I hadn't seen them since, but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to talk to them, anyway. I was feeling too tired to form words.

I'd murder someone for a cup of coffee.

I wondered how long we'd have to stay here. If I had done the math right, we were nearly halfway through the forest, but I felt like we were only moving slower, as if we were walking through thick syrup.

I was just thinking about that when I was pulled out of my trance by a loud scream. Someone was yelling something. At first, I couldn't hear what he said, but then my tired ears picked up the word.

"Spiders!"

At that moment, the Dwarves that were walking in front of me dove to the side of the path, and I knew something was coming. I broke into a sprint, pushing the people behind me forwards, but I wasn't fast enough.

Before I even knew it, I felt two hairy legs on my arms, and I was lifted up into the air. I screamed for help, but nobody came. The next thing I knew was a sharp prick between my shoulder blades.

My vision went blurry, and I vaguely thought: _This is the end. I'm going to get eaten by a spider,_ even though I knew I'd just get sent back to my own world, but it would still feel like the end of the world, because I wouldn't be able to get back here.

I wanted to do something, grab the sword Thorin had given me, but my body wouldn't move. I managed to whisper "Help" one last time before I finally passed out.


	15. A Mad, Dangerous and Foolish Idea

**Warnings: None, I guess.**

* * *

 _The fourth day of the journey, somewhere before noon_

 _Fíli_

* * *

I skidded to a halt and tried to catch my breath with my hands on my knees. I had been running for the past ten minutes, and I thought the spiders had finally lost track of me.

In not such a long time, a group had formed around me. Kíli was there, as were Uncle Thorin and Mother – who had, by the way, found out that my brother and I had come with them, and were not very happy about that –, but I was still missing someone, although my head had not yet realised who it was.

The realization crashed into me, and when it did, it knocked the air out of my lungs.

Sam.

Sam was missing.

Uncle Thorin had started to count the Dwarves that were there, but the sound seemed far away. I could not wait. I needed to hurry. Without looking back, I spun around and started to run back to where I came from. Somebody shouted my name, but I did not listen.

Sam could have been eaten by a spider already – she was barely more than a mouthful for a monster _that_ gigantic – but I refused to believe that she was dead. She could not be. It would be too dangerous if something went wrong and she would not be there to fix it.

That was what my head told me, but perhaps there was something in my heart, too, which I ignored. I could not risk letting my heart telling me things, not now.

My boots thumped on the cobblestones of the path as I looked at the thick layer of leaves above my head. I had remembered from last year that the spiders kept their preys high in the trees – I had been a prey myself back then – so that was where I needed to be. I started to climb a tree, and it went horribly slowly; I was good at climbing down, but climbing up always took a little more time.

The higher I got, the thicker the webs became. They stuck to my hair, my clothes, my hands – to everything. It did not take long before I got stuck.

I grabbed a knife from my belt to cut myself loose, but while doing so, I caused a vibration in the web. I quickly freed myself.

The spiders could be there any moment.

I decided that a stealthy approach was not going to work today, so I started to run on the branches, not caring if I attracted spiders by touching the webs; they were coming, any way.

"Sam! Sam, where are you?"

I only got silence as a reply, followed by a fast sound that was definitely spiders coming closer. I swore in Khuzdul and quickened my pace.

"Sam?"

Nothing.

"Sam!"

Nothing.

Then an idea started to form inside my head. It was a mad, dangerous and foolish idea, but it might work, and it seemed like the best of my options; it was either that, or fleeing and leaving Sam behind, or getting eaten.

Slowly and carefully, so that I would not fall down, I started to wrap myself in webs, my hand still gripping the knife in case something went wrong, until I could only see shapes and shadows through the thick material. I tried to lie as still as possible as the spiders came closer. I could smell their breath at some point; it reeked like blood and poison and other foul things.

There were two of them, as far as I knew, and they were hissing things to one another, things that gave me goose bumps.

"Another one!" one of them hissed, sounding delighted. "Let's eat it, let's rip off his skin, let's drink his blood!"

As you may expect, I was terrified in that short moment, and I wondered how I could have thought that this could end well. I hoped those beasts could not smell fear, because when a second spider began to speak, the knife nearly slipped out of my sweaty hands.

"Yesss," it hissed, and it made the 's' long and quiet. "Let'sss eat him now, now that he'sss fressh."

I gripped my weapon tighter as two shadows towered above me. I was just about to stab the closest one when a third voice joined the conversation.

"Bastards!" it said sharply. "Weren't you going to share?"

I felt my breath quicken, but I kept quiet, because the two other spiders stepped back. One of them made an angry noise that sounded most like a growling rabbit.

"All right, then," it said. "We'll bring him to the rest."

"And don't you dare eat him," the third spider commanded. "I've got all of my eyes on you."

"Yesss, Ssir," one of the two other ones whispered.

He – or she – grabbed the flap of web by my feet between its enormous jaws and started to drag me. My head hit all kinds of things – I believe I was being dragged right through a tree or something – but I tried not to make any sound. After a couple of minutes, when my body was already bruised, I was roughly thrown down on something hard, a branch or something.

I could not help it.

I flinched.

And I knew the spider had seen it.

I tried to lie as still as possible and hoped the monster would forget about it, but it did not. The next thing I knew was a pair of jaws cutting through the webs, right above my face. I knew I would die if I did not act quickly, so I acted quickly.

I forced my knife up, into the spider's chest. It made a horrible, ear-piercing, screeching sound.

"It'sss sstill alive!" it shrieked. "It'sss alive!"

I twisted the knife, and the spider stopped moving. It fell through the webs and hit the ground with a loud thump. I shivered, but I did not have time to process how close this had been. I could hear more spiders approaching, and I was in the lair of the beast, or beasts, so they were nearby.

I looked around to see other packages of web around me, at least thirty of them. This must be the other preys.

I quickly went over to the nearest one and cut through the sticky material. The bearded face of a man appeared. I shook him.

"Hey," I said, not too loud, and unable to suppress the tremble in my voice – the spiders were coming closer. I could see the web shaking in the corner of my eye. "Wake up."

The Dwarf jolted upright. He was breathing heavily, probably because of the poison, and I felt great pity for the poor soul, but I did not have time for this.

I spun around to see five spiders burst through the white web. I drew my sword, ready to strike, although I knew this was too much for even me. I could feel my fast heartbeat in my throat.

The spiders had almost reached me when I heard a voice coming from underneath me. Uncle Thorin's voice, to be precise.

"Hey!" he yelled at the spiders. "Fat beasts! Are you hungry?"

As if they had suddenly forgotten about me, the spiders spun around and started to climb down the trees, growling insults I did not understand. The loud battle cries of the Dwarves below seemed to fill the forest.

This was exactly the distraction I needed.

I started to free the web-covered people around me. They were all weak and ill because of the poison, and most of them could barely stand.

I started to become desperate when I cut open the last three packages of web. I had come to rescue Sam, but I had not found her yet. My mind started to produce dark thoughts that I did not want to hear.

 _Perhaps she is dead._

 _Perhaps she has been eaten._

 _Perhaps she is gone._

I cut through the last web and freed the Dwarf inside.

Sam was not there.

I felt my breath quicken.

She was not there. Where could she have gone?

I refused to believe that she was dead.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I almost did not hear the whisper behind me.

"Hey."

I turned around to see her standing there, sword in her hands, pale face, out of breath. She smiled weakly at me, and I smiled back because I was happy that I had found her – Gods, I was so happy I had found her – but then her smile disappeared, and the sword dropped from her trembling hands.

I was just in time to catch her when she passed out.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_**

 ** _I'm so sorry for taking so long to update! I've been quite busy last week, but there's no school next week, so I hope I can write a lot, so that I can update more frequently!_**

 ** _I've got the entire story planned, so all I need is time and concentration. Have patience with me, my lovely readers! We'll get to the end sometime!_**


	16. An Unusual Way to Wake Up

**Warning: Someone vomiting.**

* * *

 _October 24th, no idea what time_

 _Sam_

* * *

Darkness.

Dizziness.

For a moment after gaining consciousness again, I had no idea where I was, or what happened. There was a short moment of complete and utter confusion. Then I remembered.

I remembered escaping from my web roll and hiding. I remembered watching Fíli as he helped the other Dwarves get out, watching him panic after opening the last one, for reasons I didn't understand. I remembered passing out.

I groaned in frustration. I had passed out right in front of Fíli. Now he probably thought that I was some weak, stupid girl, and not a warrior.

 _Great._

Oh well. I just needed to prove myself again.

I was curious about where I was, but I felt like I could puke if I opened my eyes, so I didn't.

Wait...

How was I even moving?

Now my eyes snapped open. Not smart. I immediately felt sicker than I had before, and closing my eyes didn't help anymore.

I looked around almost franctically, and I felt my pale face turn red as I realised that I was sitting on someone's back.

I.

Was.

Being.

Carried.

By.

Fíli.

And I was feeling too sick to feel flustered about it.

"Put me down," I forced out of my throat. "Put me down, or I might throw up into your neck."

Thank goodness he didn't ask questions and just put me down. As soon as I had crawled towards the edge of the path, I threw up the entire content of my stomach.

 _Ew_.

I felt better now, though.

Fíli walked up to me with a worried look on his face. Yep, he definitely thought I was weak.

"Are you all right?" he asked me, holding out his hand to help me up.

I slapped it away. It was nothing personal; I just didn't like it when people underestimated me. Even though I knew very well that I was overestimating myself.

"Yes," I replied, standing up. Not smart. I immediately lost my balance. The Dwarf caught me, smirking at me.

Bastard.

"I do not think so," he said friendly, but amusedly. Before I even knew it, he had lifted me up and put me back on his back.

"Hey!" I yelled, which didn't work very well, because my voice was hoarse. "Put me down!"

He didn't reply and started to walk. I tried something else.

"Please, Fíli," I said in my sweetest voice, which wasn't really impressive, seeing as I don't have a sweet voice. "Please put me down. I can walk."

"No, you cannot."

"Oh, for goodness' sake! I'm not a weak little girl!"

"And I am not heartless. I will not let you walk and pass out again."

Good point, honestly. I let out a sigh and kept my mouth shut.

After a while, the steady bouncing of the prince's steps lulled me to sleep.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **Aww! And ew.**_

 _ **Right now, there are a couple of short(er) chapters coming up, so I think I'm just going to post them two at a time. So there's a chapter coming right after this one. In a couple of minutes. Just so you know.**_


	17. A Denied Offer and a Destroyed Something

**Warnings: None. Maybe a little bit of heartbreak and a sunken ship. (do my readers ship people in fanfictions? 'Cause I always do with other people's fanfictions)**

* * *

 _The fourth day of the journey, near midnight_

 _Fíli_

* * *

"Fíli."

I looked up as I heard my Uncle's voice.

It was somewhere in the middle of the night, and it was dark - obviously. Sam was lying in a tree next to me, fast asleep, and I had offered to stand quard in case the spiders came back.

I put my knife, which I had been absent-mindedly sharpening, away, and greeted the Dwarf King approaching me.

"Hello, Uncle. Is something wrong?"

I could not see his face well in the dark, but he seemed worried.

"I believe I am the one who should be asking you that question," he replied. "I can see how you look at Sam. It troubles you how close she was to getting seriously injured. Am I right?"

I nodded, although he probably could not see that.

Uncle Thorin went on.

"It could have been worse. We were lucky."

"I am aware of that."

"What I am trying to say is..." He sighed. "...perhaps it is better if you go home."

I looked up, startled. "What?"

"If Sam dies in our world, and something happens to you, there will be nobody to make it undone. Go back to Erebor. Take Kíli and your mother with you. Be safe."

"No," I protested. "I am here to protect the ones I love, and I do that by protecting Sam. I knew it would be dangerous when I came. I do not want to go home."

I hated myself in that moment. I was not supposed to talk like that to the man who had raised me. But I simply could not accept this.

Uncle Thorin sighed.

"I expected this," he said, sounding defeated. I hated myself a little bit more. "You have the right to make choices for yourself. I will not force you to do something I want you to do. Just... Just think about it."

I nodded, promised that I would think about it, although I knew my decision would not change. Uncle left after that, with a simple "Good night", and the silence returned.

I leaned against the tree trunk behind me. Gods, I felt bad about my behaviour. I felt worse than last year, when I had ignored Uncle Thorin's advice as well, but that had been different. Kíli had been dying then. I would have never forgiven myself if I had left him behind. Perhaps, I realised, that was why I wanted to keep Sam alive: because I knew something could happen to my brother, something that was worse than last time, and I wanted to have somebody to turn back time and make it undone.

But still, there was something deep down that told me that that was not entirely true, that I still wanted to have Sam around because she was Sam, and not a useful Tale-Changer.

I absent-mindedly grabbed one of my braids and started to pluck the sticky remains of the cobwebs out of it.

All those feelings confused me. I wanted them to go away.

I was sitting there, in the dark and surrounded by the other Dwarves' soft snoring, for about ten minutes or so, when I heard a rustling sound next to me. Sam sat up and stretched her arms.

"Hey," I softly said to her. "How are you feeling?"

She yawned.

"Fine, I guess, thanks," she replied. "Just... have been awake for over an hour."

 _Oh._

 _That means she has heard the conversation between me and Uncle Thorin._

I felt my face turn red in embarrassment; luckily, it was dark, and Sam could not see that.

I knew that she thought that I had only rescued her because I wanted to use her if something went wrong, not because I cared about her. I was not certain if that was true.

"It doesn't matter, you know," she said, as if she could read my thoughts. She sounded like it _did_ matter to her. "It's not the first time. I've gotten used to the fact that it's hard to make people actually like you when they find out that you're useful."

I tried to protest, tell her that she was wrong, but I could not get any sound out of my throat.

I heard Sam sigh, and then she lied down again and turned her back on me.

Deep down, I knew that I had destroyed something from which I did not even know it was there.

And it hurt.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **I don't think I need to say anything about this chapter. I hope you're enjoying your feelings.**_


	18. A Brother's Offer

**Warnings: None.**

* * *

 _The eighth day of the journey, during lunch break_

 _Kíli_

* * *

Something was going on between Fíli and Sam, and I knew it was not something good.

The two of them had avoided each other for the past couple of days, and everytime they accidentally looked at each other, the Tale-Changer seemed angry, and my brother looked guilty. I had asked him a few times if something was wrong, and he always replied that there was, but that he did not want to talk about it. I respected that; I did not force him to say something, although I was pretty curious.

We had just stopped walking to have lunch, and I had just taken a bite of the rabbit that someone had caught this morning, when I heard my brother's voice behind me.

"Kíli?"

"Hm-m?" I replied, unable to speak because my mouth was full. I quickly chewed and swallowed. "Yes?"

Fíli sat down on the ground next to me, legs crossed.

"Can- Can I talk to you about something?"

I grinned and responded: "Why do you still ask? You know the answer."

"I know," he sighed. "It is about Sam."

"What about her? Did she say something wrong? Is that the reason you do not sleep?"

He shook his head.

"She did not do anything wrong," he said, looking at his boots. "I did."

I waited until he would say more. I knew my brother; if he said something vague, there would always follow an explanation.

"I have made her believe that I have only saved her from the spiders because I wanted to protect you and Mother and Uncle Thorin, not because I care about her."

I did not need to ask how he had done that. It did not matter.

"That is not so bad, is it?" I asked, unable to believe that this was why he was so upset. "You just need to talk to her, make it up to her."

My brother's head snapped towards me, and I involuntarily flinched. He did not seem angry, though, only incredibly frustrated.

"You did not hear what she said," he hissed. "You did not hear how she sounded. I do not dare talk to her. I would rather battle a thousand Orcs than that."

 _Whoa. Then it must be really bad._

I shrugged.

"I could do it," I offered. "I could talk to her."

Fíli brightened up instantly. "Really?"

"Yes, sure. Otherwise I would not offer it, would I?"

Slowly, a grin started to spread over his face, and he pulled me into a hug.

"Thank you, brother."

* * *

 ** _A/N:_**

 ** _Double update! Couple of minutes until the next chapter (my computer is acting weird, so I'm going to restart it and then I'm going to edit it)._**

 ** _Also: thanks for THREE THOUSAND AND THIRTY-EIGHT VIEWS! I love you, my dear readers!_**


	19. A Night Without Nightmares

**Warnings: Not much, although I must say it really hurt to write (a big part of) this chapter. You have been warned.**

* * *

 _October 28th, late in the evening_

 _Sam_

* * *

I had just pulled myself up into a tree, ready to go to sleep although I knew I wouldn't be able to nod off, when I heard someone approaching. Weird; I had especially chosen this spot because it was far away from the others. The person had to be looking for me.

"Fuck off!" I yelled without opening my eyes.

I didn't want to talk to the Dwarves anymore. They only thought of me as some handy tool, anyway. If I hadn't promised to join them in their stupid war, I would've gone straight back to my own world.

A voice replied: "Sorry, calm down. I only want to talk."

My eyes flew open when I recognized Kíli's voice. With a sound that was somewhere between an annoyed sigh and a frustrated growl, I sat up.

"What?" I said rudely.

He raised his hands in a gesture of peace.

"I only want to talk," he repeated. "About Fíli. He wants to make it up to you, but he does not dare."

I rolled my eyes.

"He's sent you, hasn't he?"

The black-haired Dwarf shook his head.

"No," he replied. "I have decided to come here myself."

"Oh dear."

"He has talked to me, though," he continued, as if he hadn't heard me. Very annoying. "He did not mean what he said."

"Sure. I heard him say it to Thorin myself. He sounded like he meant it just fine."

"He merely said it to prove his point."

"Then, tell me, how does the idea even get inside his head?" I suddenly yelled, startling a raven that sat nearby and causing it to fly away. Stupid bird. "How?"

Kíli didn't reply. Then he shook his head.

"I do not know," he said softly. "All I know is that it troubles him. A lot. He has not slept in four nights, just because he was worrying about it too much. You do not see the guilt in his eyes every time he looks at you. I do. And I know it is destroying him."

That shut me up. I swallowed the sharp remark I was going to make, knowing my voice would be trembling if I said something, and looked at my dirty, grey sneakers.

"So..."

I swallowed the lump in my throat away, although I wasn't sure when and how it had gotten there.

"What do you suggest I do, now?"

Kíli had the courage to straighten up a little, to show that he knew that he had won, and said: "Let him make it up to you. You will have to ask him, though. He does not dare."

I thought about it for a moment. Did I really want to make it up to Fíli? Did I really want to give him another chance, even after what he said?

Yes.

Yes, I did.

I turned to Kíli.

"Tell your brother that I want to talk to him. Next morning, during breakfast. Tell him to meet me at this tree."

The Dwarf prince grinned, nodded, and ran off, wishing me a good night as he left.

It was the first time since October 23th that I slept without nightmares.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_**

 ** _Are you guys enjoying your feelings? Good. Me, too._**


	20. A Somewhat Forced Apology

**Warnings: None.**

* * *

 _The ninth day of the journey, early in the morning_

 _Fíli_

* * *

I rocked back and forth on my feet as I stood by the tree where Sam wanted to meet me. I almost had not slept last night – again – because I was trying desperately to think about what I was going to say, but my head stayed empty.

And here I was, waiting, without a plan.

I nervously plucked at the braids in my hair, a habit I had developed when I was only a little boy. I heard footsteps behind me, and I turned around.

Sam was walking towards me. There was a look on her face that was hard to read, and it made me even more nervous. She stopped about a metre in front of me and put her hands behind her back.

"Do your best," she said curtly.

I frowned in confusion. "Sorry?"

"Do your best," she repeated on the same tone. "Say something to make it up to me. Convince me that you're not the asshole that I think you are."

I did not know where to start.

"I did not mean it. That- That I only want to be near you to be able to ask you to save my family if they die."

She took a step forwards, looking like she was waiting. I swallowed difficultly and went on.

"I am sorry that I made you think that that was true. I truly am. In fact, think about it, do you really think that I would risk my life to save you, only because of that? Do you really think there was not something in my heart that told me that I would not be able to live with myself if I let you die?"

"I can't die, except in my own world, and I'm fully capable to save myself."

"I know that," I replied honestly. "I know you are a warrior, and I know you have saved my and my brother's life, completely on your own, without any help. Fact is that my despair got the better of me when I realized the spiders had caught you. I think I forgot how strong you really are. I am sorry about that, too."

Sam squinted for a moment, seemed to think about what I had said, and I kept my mouth shut, praying that I had not made it even worse. Then the redheaded girl took another step forwards. She was standing right in front of me, now, and there were only a couple of centimetres between the two of us.

She was a little smaller than I was, and if she came so close to intimidate me, it was not working. I had never before noticed the tiny freckles on her cheeks and nose, or how long her eyelashes were, or that her eyes were not one colour, but a mix of dark brown, black and gold.

She looked up at me and came even closer, so that I could feel her breath on my lips, and whispered almost inaudibly: "I think I can forgive you."

Then she sprinted away, and in a couple of seconds, she was gone.

I stood there, frozen, and unable to figure out how I should feel; relieved, because she was not mad at me, anymore, or ashamed, because I had thought, for a tiny moment, about kissing her?

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 ** _Yay! They're all friends again! :)_**

 _ **No double update this time, but there'll be quite a long chapter tomorrow, so don't worry!**_


	21. A Dance with Dwarves

**Warning: Some awkwardness. Nothing serious.**

* * *

 _October 30th, late in the afternoon_

 _Sam_

* * *

We made it out of Mirkwood today, and we were all so happy about it – no more headaches! Yay! – that Thorin decided to throw a party. That's the reason why we had stopped by the side of a river, in the middle of nowhere, and the only sounds one could hear tonight were the quiet chirping of birds, the rushing of the river and the loud sound of music and singing Dwarves.

Unfortunately, I couldn't join them in their singing and playing and dancing, because:

One: I couldn't sing,

Two: I didn't have an instrument,

Three: I didn't know how to play an instrument,

Four: I couldn't dance, and

Five: I didn't have anyone to dance with.

So I just sat on a rock, close to the riverside, along with some of the younger Dwarves, watching the older people party. It was like a kids' table, only we all weren't kids anymore. It was kinda awkward. And boring. And maybe, just maybe, I felt a little left out, as I watched – for example – Fíli and Kíli jump around and play their violin, and I couldn't join them without looking like an idiot.

I sighed and let my thoughts wander, to things I can't remember, but I let them wander, and I was so lost in my thoughts that I jumped a half metre in the air when someone suddenly put a hand on my shoulder.

It was Kíli, and he looked utterly pleased with himself for startling me so much. I scowled at him, and he grinned back.

"Sorry," he said, not sounding at all as if he meant it. "I wanted to ask you if you wanted to dance."

"With you?"

"With all of us. We are going to switch partners every once in a while."

I sighed and put a curl behind my ear. Oh, why not. Otherwise I'd just be sitting here, doing nothing.

"All right, then," I then replied. "But I gotta warn you: I can't dance at all."

"Neither can I."

He grinned again and pulled me to my feet and towards the two circles the many Dwarves had formed. We stood in front of each other, I was in the inner ring with the women and he in the outer one, along with the men, facing each other.

I didn't quite understand what was going on or what I was supposed to do, but before I could ask, the music started, and before I even knew it, Kíli had stepped forwards, lifted me up and thrown me into the air. I was so surprised that an embarrassing yelp escaped my mouth. Of course, the Dwarf caught me again and put me back on the ground. He was smirking, the little shit that he was.

The music became different for a couple of seconds as the outer ring took a step sideways, so that everyone was facing someone else, and then it went on where it had left off.

That was the beginning of something crazy, crazier than anything I'd ever experienced – and that's quite a thing, seeing as I had been in at least twenty stories by now, and I had gone through quite a few crazy things. I was being thrown into the air, spun around, accidentally kicked a couple of times and dropped onto the ground once after being thrown into the air.

In other words: when I eventually stood in front of the last Dwarf I was going to have to dance with, I was dizzy, out of breath, my shins were black and blue, and I was feeling too exhausted to feel uncomfortable about the fact that the last person I had to dance with was Fíli.

I looked him into the eyes with an almost pleading expression on my face.

"Please don't toss me into the river," I panted, and I wasn't even joking.

He grinned back. He was all sweaty; I wondered how many girls/women he had thrown and caught already.

Wait a second, why did that hurt?

I didn't have time to wonder about that, because the music became faster again, and before I even realised what was happening, Fíli had picked me up and put me onto his shoulders. It wasn't that high, barely higher than the trees I used to sleep in when we were still in the forest, and I knew he wouldn't drop me, but I couldn't help but scream a little.

When I looked around, I saw that every woman had been lifted up into the air, and I could already guess what was going to happen when the men started to run towards the river. I grabbed Fíli's hair so that he wouldn't drop me, and he yelped "Ow!", but I couldn't hear him over the sound of someone yelling "Chicken fight!"

The prince ran over to the other prince, who was carrying a girl around who looked like she wasn't much older than me, though I knew she was, and yelled loudly: "Push her off!"

I threw myself forwards, towards the girl on Kíli's shoulders, but she pushed me back, laughing.

"Thought you could beat me that easily?" she mocked.

I tried to throw her off the black-haired Dwarf's shoulders, but didn't succeed.

"Come on, Sam!" Fíli encouraged me. "Push her off!"

"Never!" the girl yelled back.

I could barely hold my balance – she was a lot stronger than I was – and she was winning until Fíli suddenly took a step backwards. The girl yelped and tumbled into the river, dragging Kíli with her.

"Fíli!" he shouted, struggling up to squeeze the water out of his hair. "That is not fair!"

The blond prince didn't reply; he was laughing too hard. His brother made a face at him before tackling him. I fell off his shoulders, into the water, and immediately, I was soaking wet. Damn, that water was cold.

I stuck my tongue out at Kíli, who was laughing now, and he laughed even harder when he saw that.

"You're mean, Kíli," I pouted. "Now I'm wet. And I'm cold. And you're making fun of me."

He continued laughing his ass off. Luckily, his brother went along with my act, so that I wouldn't be entirely making myself look like a moron. He lifted me out of the freezing water – why did he keep picking me up? It was becoming kinda weird – and lied me down on the narrow strip of grint next to the river.

"There, I have saved you," he said dramatically, smirking. He reminded me of someone, although I couldn't quite remember who it was.

Kíli broke my line of thoughts, saying something completely unexpected, completely random – or maybe not – and because of that, extremely uncomfortable.

"Perhaps we should take off our clothes to let them dry in the night," he yelled from behind Fíli's back.

His brother, who was still bent over me, choked. His face became bright red.

"Kíli," I said to the Dwarf with that name, who was, judging by the look on his face, trying to figure out what he had said wrong, "do you even realise how awkward that sounded?"

He opened his mouth, then realised it, and closed it again.

"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly. "Although I do not think it is a bad idea."

He climbed out of the river, patted his still coughing brother on the back as he walked past him, and took off his soaking wet clothes until he was only wearing his underpants. I wasn't sure where to look.

It wasn't until Kíli was back in the river that Fíli stopped coughing. He didn't break character when he turned towards his brother and bellowed: "Now, brother, you will pay for that remark!"

He hurled towards him and pulled him under water, making him sputter.

"Hey!" he protested, and then threw his hand towards his brother, through the water, so that Fíli got a torrent of water drops in his face. Now he was the one sputtering. He decided that he wanted revenge, and threw water back at Kíli, who threw back.

It kept going on like that until the sun had set, and Thorin and Dís had to drag the soaking wet brothers out of the river.

It was a good day. I think I had decided that I had forgiven Fíli for the somewhat clumsy remark he had made.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **I FINISHED THE STORY! AAAAAAAHHH AND IT'S GOING TO GET REALLY INTENSE! HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE FEELINGS (MUHAHA)**_

 _ **I'M GOING TO POST ONE CHAPTER EVERY DAY, EXCEPT WHEN IT'S REALLY SHORT, AND I'M ALSO PROBABLY NOT GOING TO POST ON SUNDAY BECAUSE IT'S MY BIRTHDAY THEN AND AAAH I'M JUST SO HAPPY SORRY FOR MY RAMBLING BUT I NEEDED TO TELL YOU GUYS ALSO THANKS FOR READING THIS CHAPTER AND ALL THE CHAPTERS BEFORE THIS ONE AND I FELT LIKE I NEEDED TO THANK YOU FOR THAT BECAUSE I'M REALLY THANKFUL AND I LOVE YOU GUYS I LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU EVEN IF YOU HAVEN'T FAVORITED OR FOLLOWED OR REVIEWED OR WHATEVER I'M ALREADY THANKFUL IF YOU READ MY STORY I LOVE YOU XXX**_


	22. A Story of Monsters and Warriors

**Warnings: None.**

* * *

 _October 31st, night_

 _Sam_

* * *

"Brr. It's cold here."

I shivered and rubbed my hands over my upper arms. Even though I was lying in my sleeping bag with three layers of clothes on – my long-sleeved T-shirt, my vest, and my jacket – I was still feeling cold. We were at the edge of the Misty Mountains, and it was most certainly freezing here, so we were all lying close to one another, trying to keep our body warmth as close to ourselves as possible, like penguins. I didn't think anyone was asleep, except for Kíli, who had been chasing animals for most of the day, and he was exhausted.

I heard Fíli shuffle next to me.

"Here, take this," he said, handing me something. It was his coat.

"You sure?" I asked. "Don't you need it yourself?"

It wasn't like I didn't want more clothes to keep me warm, but I was a bit worried about him. I didn't want him to be sick when we had to go into Moria. That would mean he'd be less focused and that'd mean a bigger chance for him to get hurt and die, and although I knew I could save him, I couldn't save him until he was dead, and that would mean that I'd have to watch him be in incredible pain and die. That'd probably scar me forever, and it wouldn't be so nice for him, either.

Fíli shook his head.

"No," he said. "The cold does not bother me. I am used to it."

I didn't reply; I had already started to put on the coat somewhere in the middle of his first sentence. It was nice and warm, and big enough to fit over my own jacket. I let out a sigh.

"Thanks. "

"No problem."

The silence returned, between us, at least; most of the other Dwarves were whispering things to each other. I caught some words from their quiet conversations.

"...a thousand Orcs..."

"...outnumbered..."

"...monster..."

I shivered again, but not because of the cold this time. I knew which monster they were talking about. The Balrog that lived in the Moria mines – a demon bigger and stronger than anything our small army had ever encountered, myself included, although I had come across quite a few big and strong creatures.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Fíli, who propped himself up on one elbow to look at me.

"Are you still cold?" he asked, sounding a little worried.

I shivered and shook my head.

"No," I replied. "It's just... this stuff about if the Monster of Moria is still there is freaking me out."

I didn't say that I knew that it must be there, because it would attack about sixty years from now, but that I simply didn't know whether it was captured or not.

I heard the blond prince chuckle softly. "Shall I tell you a story?"

"What?"

"Shall I tell you a story?" he repeated his question. "There was a story Mother used to tell Kíli and me. It might help us sleep, too."

I shrugged. "Okay."

The night was going to last long if I'd be awake, so I might as well kill some time. Fíli sat upright, his legs crossed on top of his sleeping bag.

"There once was a warrior, strong and fierce," he began, "and although this warrior was a woman, she was the strongest, smartest and fiercest of them all."

"Like Mulan."

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind. Go on."

"One day, a monster was found and accidentally released in her city – the wealthy city of Khazad-dûm. Everyone in the city fled; their king was killed, they were chased out of their homes. There was one person that stayed. Guess who?"

"That warrior girl you were talking about."

I was getting sleepy, and my voice was thick because of it.

"Correct. She stayed behind, thought up a plan to trick the monster, and captured it in a cage, strong enough to never let it out again. Her people did not dare return to the city, because they did not dare find out what else was hidden in the depts of their city, and so they left. Mother said that they then travelled towards Erebor."

He sighed softly.

"I thought of this warrior when I met you. Strong, fierce, smart, and with a good heart; you are much alike."

Unfortunately, I didn't hear that compliment. Fíli told me later on that he had said that, because somewhere at the end of the story, I had fallen asleep.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **Damn, I sure hope I'm doing this 'they-are-slowly-starting-to-like-each-other' thing right... :P**_


	23. A Safe Distance of a Dangerous Place

**Warnings: None.**

 _Day fifteen of the journey, early in the afternoon_

 _Fíli_

We had fallen silent somewhere after breakfast. We were near Moria, and everybody knew it. They could feel the tension in their bones, just like me, and it locked the place in our brains where the words came from. Those that had bravely said that they were looking forward to getting Khazad-dûm back, were now quietly counting the arrows in their quivers or sharpening their knives and wondering if it would be enough, if they should have brought more weapons, or more people.

I had my doubts myself, but I tried not to give into it. Doubt would cloud my focus, and that does not come in very handy if you are supposed to fight in less than twenty-four hours.

I was just thinking about that when Uncle Thorin yelled: "Stop! We will pitch our camp here. This is a safe distance."

I dropped my heavy backpack right at the spot where I was standing. It may be less heavy than when we left Erebor, but I was exhausted; we had left our last spot somewhere right after midnight, because we wanted to make sure we reached Moria before nightfall the next day, and nearly nobody was sleeping, any way.

Now that I was not moving, anymore, I felt how cold I was. Sam still had my coat, so I walked around in only a cardigan and a thin shirt, but I did not want to ask if I could have it back, because I knew she was cold, too, and I had a feeling that she needed it more than I did.

I watched in silence as a couple of names were called by Uncle Thorin and got the orders to scout the terraine. I watched as they left, wondering with which news they would return. Good or bad? Bad or really bad? Really bad or perhaps-it-is-better-if-we-turn-around-because-this-is-not-going-to-work bad? Nobody knew.

And so we waited, without saying anything, until the sun began to set, because that was when the explorers returned.

We were asked to sit in a circle, and everybody did without complaining, because we all wanted to know what we were going to fight against.

The shortest of the five explorers, a girl whose chin was covered in beige stubbles, began to talk.

"There are many Orcs in the mines," she told us, "and a couple of Trolls."

"What about the Balrog?" someone yelled.

"The Balrog's locked in a cage at one of the lower floors," one of the other explorers replied. "It's harmless. It can't get out of there. I heard some Orcs say that they hadn't figured out how to open the darn thing yet."

We all cheered, not only of excitement, but also of relief. We would not have to battle a demon. That had been one of my major worries.

I locked eyes with Sam, on the other side of the circle, and she seemed relieved, too. She had a huge smile on her face, and I did not realise that I was going to imitate that expression until I had.

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **Tiny chapter, double update!**_

 _ **(also: I said I wouldn't update on my birthday, but I'm awake earlier than the rest of my family, so I'll update anyway!)**_


	24. A Breakdown before War

**Warnings: Nothing serious enough to be warned about.**

* * *

 _November 2nd, late night_

 _Sam_

* * *

"Sword?"

"Check."

"Knives?"

"Two of them. Check."

"Extra clothes?"

"Why would I need extra clothes?"

"Just in case. Do you have them?"

"Yes."

"Good. Courage?"

"Enough of it, hopefully."

"What are you two doing?"

Kíli and I both looked up when we heard Fíli's curious voice. He sat down next to us.

"We're checking if I've got everything I need for a battle," I replied jokingly. "Kíli calls himself an expert."

The black-haired prince nodded enthousiastically, and his brother barked a laugh.

"This is not her first war, Kíli," he chuckled.

Kíli shrugged.

"It will be the first one where she is well prepared."

"Yeah," I agreed, spinning my sword around in my hands, "and also the first one with a sword that I can handle. And, hopefully, also the first one where I won't have to go back to save one of you."

I felt myself become serious as I looked both brothers in the eyes, one by one.

"Can you promise me that that won't happen?" I asked.

I noticed that my voice was shaking, and for once, I didn't hate it. It was a sign that I was genuinely worried about them. Last time had been part of my job, and I had mostly been worried that I'd fail and that the Council would kick me out, take away my ring, wipe my memory.

Right now, I didn't worry about any of those things. I didn't even worry about the fact that I wouldn't be able to come back here if I went back to my own world. I only worried about the pain my friends – could I call them friends by now? I believed I could – would have to suffer if they were going to die.

We didn't have many Healers with us, nor were they good enough to save someone who was dying. It takes a couple of hours to die if you get stabbed in the stomach, I knew from my own experience. Hours and hours of horrible pain, without hope of anyone being able to save you. I didn't want that to happen to anybody. I really didn't.

And, just like that, being the weak dumbass that I was, I started to sob.

I didn't see it because I was hiding my probably really ugly face in my hands, but I knew Fíli and Kíli shared a confused look before they wrapped their arms around me.

"We promise we will stay alive," the youngest of the two said softly.

I snorted disdainfully. "You can't promise that."

"Then we promise we will be less reckless than last time," Fíli replied, glancing at his brother, who smiled guiltily.

It made me smile through my tears, which probably looked really, really ugly. I sniffed.

"You'd better," I said hoarsely, doing a pathetic attempt to be funny. "Dying hurts a lot. Believe me. I've died, like, a hundred times by now. Or it feels like that many times."

"Awesome," Kíli whispered, and his brother shot him a glance, which almost literally said something like 'Hey, you're not supposed to say something like that! That's not a nice thing to say! Apologize, untactful asshole!'

"I mean," the black-haired Dwarf quickly added, "that it is amazing that you are basically immortal. You can die in one world but still live in another. That is quite remarkable."

I didn't know how to react; my throat suddenly felt like it was being squeezed shut, and I couldn't get any words out of it. There were too many feelings inside of me. That had happened many times before, but it usually didn't result in crying; mostly just feeling like I could explode at any second. I guess I had exploded now.

Fíli rubbed my back comfortingly, and I must say that it helped. We sat there, the three of us, the two brothers with their arms wrapped around me, for a couple of minutes, before I sniffed and straightened up a little.

"You don't think I'm weak, now, do you?" I asked uncertainly, allowing myself for once to truly ask what I wanted to know.

Fíli and Kíli shook their heads simultaneously.

"Not at all," Fíli replied. "Do you seriously think that we have never had a breakdown before a war?"

His younger brother hit him on the back of his head.

"We agreed that we would never tell anyone about that!" he hissed, but the blond Dwarf only laughed.

And I laughed, too.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_**

 ** _If I were you, I'd prepare myself for the next chapter. It's kinda long, and kinda intense, too. Got feelings while reading this chapter? It's NOTHING compared with what's coming._**


	25. A Lack of Last Words

**Warnings: Ehm. Where do I start. Blood, pain, broken bones, fear, crying, intense stuff.**

* * *

 _Day sixteen of the journey, after breakfast_

 _Kíli_

* * *

It was not until we had entered the corridor that lead to the gates of Moria that I truly realised that the war had begun.

Well, not truly, because there was no one yet who was trying or planning to kill us, but there was no way back, anymore.

People were sent forwards to open the gates. I barely noticed them. Our footsteps echoed way too loudly in the otherwise deafening silence underground, and someone sneezed a couple of metres behind me. Fíli. Perhaps he had caught a cold. That would not surprise me at all; he had been walking around without his coat for the past three days.

Someone in the back of the group yelled "Bless you!", and someone else hissed that he had to shut up.

The silence returned, and it stayed for the ten terrible minutes after that. The most terrible thing was that nothing happened. We just walked there, through the empty, dark hallways, too terrified to make any sound, wondering when the Orcs or the Trolls or any other creature that lurked here would notice us. I had an arrow on my bow, ready to shoot when I had to, but there was nothing to shoot at.

It happened when we came close to a huge hall, dimly lit by torches. I guess it was because of the darkness, or because we were becoming less careful, but for some reason, we did not notice the at least twenty Orcs that came creeping up to us from behind.

When we did, all Hell broke loose.

We dashed into the lit hall with the Orcs on our tails, because we would only be able to fight if we could see our opponents, but made the mistake of running into even more evil and ugly creatures. I believe that is when I lost track of time. The only things I can remember for the time after that – it could have been minutes, but it could have been hours as well – were that I had run out of arrows at some point, and that I lost my sword somehow, and that I did not see Fíli or Sam or Mother or Uncle Thorin anymore, just complete chaos all around me, and no way out of it.

I pulled my knife out of the Orc I had just killed while I looked around. Where _were_ those people?

I almost panicked when I didn't see any of them, but then I spotted my brother. He was on the other side of the hall, covered in dust and blood, just like the rest of us, surrounded by Orcs. He looked like he could use some help. I made my way through the crowd, towards him, and when he saw me, he grinned, as if he was happy to see that I was still alive and well.

Unfortunately, that was exactly the distraction that killed him in the end.

An Orc, that was standing behind him, drew his sword.

Everything seemed to happen horribly slowly.

He moved it forwards.

I remember realising that there was no point in trying to push my brother away, there was no time, and I was too far away, but I still hurled towards him, yelling, but forming no words.

I swore I felt the same pain when the Orc stabbed my brother in the chest.

I let out the same cry as Fíli fell on his knees, only I did not fall, I cut the Orc's head off and then kneeled beside my brother, who was lying on the stone floor by then, bleeding and only half conscious. I pulled his arm over my shoulders, trying to ignore the moan he let out, because he _really_ needed to get out of there, and started to drag him towards a spot in the darkness, away from the chaos.

I believe there was still hope inside of me, I was still hoping that he could be saved, that I could spare him all the pain Sam had predicted.

Just when I had almost made it to the shadow, I was roughly pushed aside – by friend or foe, it did not matter. Fíli rolled over the floor, fully unconscious by then, and slipped to a halt by the feet of a Troll.

And.

The.

Troll.

Picked.

Him.

Up.

With.

Its.

Filthy.

Paws.

I do not know what I was thinking when I hurled towards the ugly creature and started to pitch into his shins with my tiny knife.

"Put him down!" I yelled. "Put him down, damn it!"

I must have been so furious that I did not even realise that I was using one of Sam's swear words. The minor wounds my knife caused did not even seem to hurt the Troll. It only surprised him a little.

He looked down at me, my brother's limp body still in his hand, before he gripped him tighter and threw him away, against one of the walls, both actions with the sickening cracking of bones being broken.

Someone screamed somewhere else in the hall. I cried out in agony as well and rushed towards my brother, blinded by panic. I did not care about anything else.

Perhaps that was why I pushed back when somebody pushed me aside, only to realise that that somebody was Sam, and that she was just as frightened as I was.

She turned to me when she saw Fíli lying there, her sweaty hair sticking to her pale face, and yelled: "We've gotta get him outta here! Help me!"

We both threw one of my brother's arms around our shoulders and started to drag him out of the hall. This time, we succeeded, and we lied him down, half upright, with his back against a pillar.

His breath was uneven, and every time he breathed in, there was a horrifying rasping in his chest. Blood was slowly filling his lungs. He would choke on it soon. Unfortunately, I had an awful feeling that that was not the only problem.

Sam crawled forwards, towards him, and shook his shoulders.

"C'mon, Fíli, please," she muttered under her breath. " _Please_ , Fíli, goddammit!"

I was going crazy on the inside. No longer trying to hide the tears in my eyes, I turned to Sam.

"Can you not do something?" I pleaded. "Can you not go back in time already, so that he will not have to suffer that much?"

Sam looked at me. It surprised me how much pain there was in her eyes. She was suffering just as much as Fíli was, and as I was.

"You don't get it, do you?" she snarled, but her voice broke. "I can't go back to save someone if that person isn't dead!"

At that last word, Fíli bolted upright, coughing violently. He let out a raw sound of pure pain. My sanity disappeared a little more.

"Fíli?" I asked carefully, crawling closer to him. My trousers got soaked in his blood, but I did not care. "Please, say something. Tell me you are okay."

I knew he was not, and that was confirmed when he shook his head.

"I..."

He coughed again.

"I believe I am going to die."

He said it calmly, as if he found it okay, and that was what I found the worst; the day Fíli finds it okay to die is the day it is all over with him.

Sam laughed humorlessly, which I found a prove of her lack of respect; my brother was dying right here, and she was laughing!

"Oh, hell no. You're not. I won't let you. And you promised."

Fíli gave her a piercing look. His eyes were wide with shock and clear with pure fear, but he still managed to look angry.

"Sam, look at me," he said lowly. "I am bleeding to death. I am a hundred percent certain something important got impaled when I was stabbed. And I cannot feel, or move, anything below my middle. Tell me, how am I ever going to recover from this?"

I felt all colour disappear from my face when he said that he could not feel his legs. I had hoped with everything I had that my foreboding was not true, but it was.

Sam reacted with a low hiss and a quickened breath as she panicked.

"I'm... I'm gonna get a Healer," she stammered, starting to leave, but Fíli stopped her.

"No," he whispered hoarsely, again cutting himself off with a coughing fit. "Stay. Please. It is too late for me, any way."

I did not even recognize my own brother, anymore. I guess people change when they are dying.

I swallowed the lump in my throat away and said: "It is all my fault, Fíli. I should have done so much more to prevent all this from happening. I should not have distracted you in the first place, then none of this would have happened."

I pounded my fist on the ground. "Damn Orcs! I will kill every single one of them when I get the chance."

I could not finish that last sentence, because Fíli cut me off somewhere in the middle of it.

"Brother," he said, sounding a little angry, "I do not want you to feel guilt or anger. It was not your fault, do not forget that. If you let anger drive you to madness, you harm others, and if guilt drives you mad, you harm yourself. Either way, innocent blood will be spilled, and therefore I beg you to feel neither of them."

I did not know how to react, although it touched me deeply, and I did not have to. Fíli went on talking, to Sam, and with a hoarser voice, now; I was sure that he was getting exhausted, and I knew that when that happened, bad things would happen.

"And Sam, brave, strong, wonderful Sam..."

A violent coughing fit interrupted what he was going to say, and one single tear rolled over the girl's left cheek.

My brother wiped the blood off his mouth and continued: "I believe you already know this, but I have come to love you."

A sob escaped Sam's throat, and she crawled closer to him to hug him, barely careful with the wound in his chest. Fíli wrapped his arms around her.

"It is a pleasure and an honor to have you here with me, Tale-Changer."

Then my brother hugged me, and I could not keep it together, anymore. I started to cry.

"I love you, brother."

I do not know who said it; our voices sounded the same in that moment, hoarse and choked and trembling.

We sat there for a while, although it felt like it was not long enough, before I could feel Fíli's breath quicken and become uneven. It startled me, and I let go of my brother, as did Sam.

The injured Dwarf on the ground pressed his hands against the wound and moaned quietly, as if he wanted to cry out but was too weak.

Sam made a agonised sound and clenched her fists, as if she was in terrible pain.

I panicked again and started to get up to get one of the Healers, even though I knew it was too late, I wanted to do _anything_ but wait and watch my brother die, but he stopped me before I could even get to my feet.

"No."

He growled because of the effort and pushed himself half upright, causing Sam to collapse even further.

"Kíli, Sam... look at me," Fíli said, his own eyes squeezed shut.

He was going to say something, probably something profound, but a last coughing fit put a stop on that.

Then my brother's chest fell and it did not rise again.

I panicked. I knew he was dead, but I could not believe it. I could not be. There had not been one minute in my entire life that my brother was not there. Now he was gone, and even though I knew Sam would go back to save him, I still could not help but feel like this was for real, that he was truly gone and he would never come back.

I think those were the most terrifying thirty seconds of my entire life.

Not the time when I was the one dying and in terrible pain. Not when I thought Uncle Thorin was dead, but there was no way of knowing for sure, or how bad it was. Not when we left home and we had no idea if we were coming back, or when, and if we would come back alive or in coffins. Not all of that. _This_ was the most terrifying moment in my life.

It ended when Sam moved to wipe her nose on her sleeve after those awful seconds.

"I'm going back," she said.

It was no question. No "Do you think it's okay if I go back in time to save your brother?" or "Do you need a moment?" She knew the answers to those questions: they were yes to the first and no to the second.

And what she had said, was no question, so I did not reply. I only watched her as she pulled her ring out of the pocket of her trousers and spun it around two times in her hand.

She started to fade, as if there was a sudden mist, only there was no mist. As she disappeared, I felt myself disappear as well.

Sam was going to change things.

This would be made undone.

And so I disappeared.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_**

 ** _I'm a horrible person._**


	26. A Change in the Tale

**Warnings: Blood, pain, broken bones.**

* * *

 _About two hours or so after the beginning of the Battle of Moria_

 _Sam_

* * *

I went twelve hours back in time. You'd think that that'd be enough.

It wasn't.

I had underestimated the ring, resulting in me passing out for about ten hours, and then being disorientated enough to completely lose my way in the Moria mines. And here I was, wandering in the darkness, and worrying about how I was supposed to save Fíli if I couldn't even find my way to the hall it all happened.

It shouldn't be so hard, should it? It was a lit hall in the complete darkness. But that goddamned city was much bigger than I thought it was. It wouldn't be long before I was too late.

I sped up my pace. How hard was it to find fucking _light_ in the _darkness?_

I was just getting frustrated enough to want to rip every hair on my head out – I was going to be late! Fíli was going to die! I'd have to watch him die again, _if I could find him_ , at least! – when I saw a tiny flicker of fire in the corner of my eye.

The hall!

I wanted to jump into the air of happiness, but seeing that that'd look really stupid, and that I was already late and didn't want to be even later, I didn't, and simply broke into a sprint towards the light.

The closer I came, the louder the battle sounds became, and the more dangerous it became. I had to dodge a stray arrow a couple of times, but I made it to the entrance.

I peeked into the room. It was total chaos in there, but that was nothing new.

I tried to find Fíli.

It was like a 'Where's Waldo?', but, you know, moving, and without Waldo. The person I wanted to find, unfortunately, wasn't wearing a red-and-white shirt, and he was a lot harder to recognize in the middle of the chaos, but eventually, I found him. Pretty close to me, actually, but still far away because of all those people blocking the way towards him.

I readied myself. I had done this before, and it wasn't so hard to run and dodge weapons at the same time, although I'd like to get out this time without a broken nose. At the first opening I saw, I rushed forwards, ducking under swords and zigzagging between people.

I was about three metres away from Fíli when I was suddenly pulled backwards.

"Hey!" I protested, grabbing my sword – I hadn't even thought of drawing it before. When I spun around, I looked right into the ugly face of an Orc. He had knotted his fist in the back of my vest and grinned evilly at me.

"Hello, little girl," he sneered, "lost your way?"

I didn't have time for this shit, so I swung my sword towards him and tried to stab him. Apparently, I hadn't practiced well enough, because I missed. It only seemed to anger the Orc.

He growled something and then jumped towards me, grabbed my shoulders and pushed me against the floor. The creature was heavy; it was half crushing me. There was a stinging pain in my chest as he put his knees on top of me and started to punch – I wondered where his weapon had gone. I tried to kick him off me, because I couldn't use my sword if he was so close, but didn't succeed. I dodged a fist, and it slammed into the stone beneath me. I felt that the Orc lost his balance, and it was exactly what I needed to throw him off me.

I had cut his throat before we both even knew it.

I turned my back on him as he bled to death, fighting the urge to throw up. This might just be the first creature I killed, but I knew I didn't have time for this, so I kept moving.

My face hurt, and I knew I'd have a black eye by next morning, or two. I suspected I also had a broken rib. I didn't worry about it. If I kept thinking, people may not even be alive anymore by next morning.

So I ran towards Fíli, trying to ignore the pain in my chest.

I was just in time.

I had just reached him when the Orc that had fatally stabbed him before was about to fatally stab him. I threw myself forwards, pushing Fíli away.

I was in time, but I wasn't quick enough.

The sword bored itself in the prince's side, and he let out a cry. I cut the Orc's head off, this time out of anger, not defence. It didn't feel good, but I had to. One life for another. And I simply valued Fíli's life a lot more than some stupid, ugly creature. Sorry, Mister Orc.

I kneeled next to my friend, who had fallen on his knees by now, and started to help him up.

"Sam," he said, "I am all right."

"Can you walk?"

"Probably."

"Well, then get your ass out of here!" I commanded. "Follow me."

He didn't ask questions; he probably assumed that I knew what I was doing. I didn't. I only knew that I wanted to get Fíli out of there as quickly as possible.

I ordered him to sit down in one of the more dimly lit spots, against a pillar. It might just be the pillar where I had been in another world, a couple of minutes from now, but there was no way to know for sure; there were so many pillars here, and it didn't matter, really.

Blood had drenched the Dwarf's sweater by now, and coloured his hands red, but it was a lot less than that other time.

"Can I have a look?" I asked, gesturing at the wound.

Fíli nodded and moved his hands away. I carefully pulled his clothes upwards. The cut didn't look so bad. It wasn't so big, and I didn't think something important got hit. There was just a lot of blood.

I pulled a shirt out of my backpack and held it against the cut to stop the bleeding – I didn't really have anything else. Fíli sucked in a breath through his teeth. I looked up.

"Am I hurting you?" I asked. "Sorry."

He shook his head.

"No, you are not hurting me," he said.

I forced my attention back to my hands.

"Okay."

The silence returned as my grey shirt slowly turned red. After about five minutes or so, I handed the shirt to Fíli and stood up.

"I'm going to get a Healer to let him take a look at it," I said. "Keep pressure on the cut and don't you dare move."

The blond Dwarf chuckled.

"Sam," he said, and I loved the way he said my name – wait, what? "I am fine."

"Sure."

"No, really. It does not even hurt."

"Uh-huh."

He grinned again.

"Now, look how the tables have turned," he said. "First, I take care of you when you say you do not need help, and now you take care of me when I do not need it."

"Yeah, but I wasn't stabbed in the side. I'm going to get a Healer. Stay. Here."

Why was he being so stupidly stubborn? I looked angrily at him, knowing that he was going to tell me to stay, and he did.

"Wait," he said. "Can you come over here, please? I need to tell you something."

I sighed and dropped to my knees in front of him.

"Closer."

I rolled my eyes and crawled closer to him.

"Closer."

I was so close now that I could see every single detail of his face. The tiny birthmark just under his jaw. The small scar through his left eyebrow. His eyes – they were purely blue, only one colour of the brightest blue in the universe, and every other universe I had encountered so far.

He turned his head and whispered in my ear: "This is why I like you so much."

"What is why you like me so much?" I asked, confused.

I could feel his breath in my ear when he responded.

"Nothing changes you," he whispered. "No matter what you go through, you always stay yourself. I like it."

I didn't have the heart to tell him that that wasn't true. I didn't want to tell him that, in fact, one thing had changed me, or temporarily, at least; him dying, or the thought of it. I didn't tell him that I went back to save him. It'd really fuck him up.

And so I said nothing and did what my deepest desire had been since October 29th.

I kissed him.

And he kissed me back.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **I don't even know what I can say. I have no words. All I can say is that I hope you liked reading this chapter as much as I loved writing it.**_


	27. Epilogue

**Warning: Some pretty sad stuff.**

* * *

The Dwarves won the Battle of Moria.

Sam and Fíli stayed in Moria for a while, because Sam didn't want her boyfriend – yes, they had a relationship by then – to walk the entire way back when he was injured, so they stayed until he was healed, and they also stayed after that.

They married, just like Kíli and Tauriel, in Erebor, and they were very happy.

However, as you may suspect, Sam needed to go back to her own world. She got homesick, and when she was twenty-five, she said goodbye to her husband and her close friends, and went back to the world she was born in, back into her sixteen-years-old body.

Her ring was taken from her almost immediately, and her memory was wiped a couple of hours after that, but although there were no memories, there were feelings that stayed behind, and they drove her almost mad: why did she feel like she was missing someone, or why did she feel like she didn't belong here?

She got nightmares, ones that looked horrifyingly real, of killing, getting killed and watching other people get killed. She didn't fall in love, never again.

Her mother thought that perhaps she had gone crazy, and she was afraid of her own daughter. She sent Sam to her father, who lived in Britain, his grandfather's native country, hoping that she would feel like she belonged there, but she didn't. She abandoned her mother, took her father's last name – Cassidy – and lived in a small house with her father and her brother.

Fourteen years passed in a blur, and it wasn't until her thirtieth birthday that she got a call from an unknown phone number. The man's voice on the other side of the line told her to come back to the United States, to a building in New York, because he had the answer to all of her questions.

Of course, Sam went – she had waited fourteen years for this moment, of course she went.

Her memory got restored, and she got an offer to get her job back as Tale-Changer, under the condition that she would actually be _changing_ some tales this time, instead of screwing the characters – this was said with a mocking smirk.

Incredibly happy to finally be able to put the pieces together, Sam accepted the offer, under the condition that the Council would change her name in the files to Sam Nathaniel Cassidy, because she didn't want to be called 'Kenyi' anymore, or 'Lewis', her mother's first and last name, or 'Samantha', because she hated that name.

And, how could I ever forget that, she asked if she could see her husband again, and her friends.

The woman that had restored her memory smiled mysteriously at that and handed Sam her first assignment in fourteen years.

A story about four small Hobbits with a huge task – you can guess which one.

And our story ends when Fíli, who has gone to live with his family under the Lonely Mountain by now, hears a knock on his door, followed by his brother stumbling into the room, completely out of breath, as if he has run far and fast.

"Kíli?" he asks, surprised. "What is going on?"

His brother looks up, smiles, and pants: "I have got some really good news for you, brother."

And from behind him, a redheaded woman steps into the room, and greets him.

"Haven't seen you in a while. How you doing?"

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **And this is the end of the story! I hope you liked it (well, I guess you have to like it if you've read so many chapters :)) and I hope you're just as sad as I am because it's over (is it bad to hope something like that?).**_

 _ **I want to thank every single one of you for reading this entire story and having so much patience with me every time I didn't have time to write. I want to thank each wonderful reader who took the time to write a review, or who favorited or followed this story. I love you, as I've told you many times before, and I still love every single one of you, my dear readers.**_

 _ **Special thanks, by the way, to thegirlwiththerainboweyes, and to the guest(s (?)) that reviewed the first chapters, and of course everyone else that reviewed by the time they've reached this chapter. I loved reading your reviews! Thank you very much, also for the reviews that I haven't been able to thank you for yet.**_

 _ **Now that I've said that, I want to say a couple of things.**_

 _ **One: Are there any Merlin fans among you? Check out Wandererzaehler's story 'Just a minor change'. It's great, also if you haven't seen the series. You'll have to see for yourself what it's about.**_

 _ **And two: Have any of you read my story 'Blue Eyes Faded To Grey' and payed attention during the epilogue? :) Just sayin' that Nathaniel Cassidy got a daughter named Sam...**_

 _ **All right, I've got to stop now, before my Author's Note is getting longer than the story. I love you, and I'm looking forward to writing my next story, although I've got no idea yet what it's going to be about.**_

 _ **x BookLoverDutch**_


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